Red Thread
by Devilishasshole
Summary: *MODERN DAY* A young man who has been oblivious about his six year old son, blindsided by his plans of revenge is suddenly given temporary custody thanks to a car accident he inflicted. Now his ex-wife suffers in a coma and he has to deal with parenthood.
1. Episode 1

**A/N- This is all modern day Naruto, chakra still exists and bloodlines. Some plots are the same. story.**

Oji means Uncle.

Kaa-san/tou-san means mother and father

itoko means cousin

Uchiwa means paper fan a.k.a Uchiha sign

* * *

He couldn't sleep, he tossed and turned himself into a state of unease and anxiety.

Sasuke Uchiha lounged on the sofa in his one room apartment with a bottle of Jack Daniels, the bottle half empty but he felt completely unaffected by the alcohol, nothing did it for him these day's. He capped his guilty sin and hid it in a fold of the chair until he could figure out what to do with it.

Outside the sky groaned and lightening disrupted the obstinate sway of the clouds, the walls of the apartment felt paper thin as if one good eruption of lightening would cause everything to crumble and implode like a house of cards.

_I probably should get my ass to work...I can't fake a hang over another day...headquarters had to be catching on to my bullshit by now and if they hadn't it was only a matter of time before they would..._

He thought to himself, turning over his wrist to peer at his water resistant watch. The raven haired shinobi let out a throaty groan and shuffled back his damp inky hair from his forehead, he stared at his living room which actually did look like an eruption took place, one that involved dismembered toy's and scattered plastic carcasses. It was an eruption that, for once, he wasn't the cause of.

"Tou-san...I'm...scared."

Sasuke found the small slightly pudgy feet of a child in the shadows of the hall, who's face was illuminated by the dim night light Sasuke had recently installed in the hallway. Sasuke was amazed how much the boy resembled him as a child with his lustrous black hair and his innocent features, he was even more amazed that he wasn't dreaming that it was him. His eyes however were a distinctive attribute that differed from his fathers. His eyes were a mirrored image of his mothers, the curiosity in them was just as innate.

The boy stumbled forward, a blanket draped too big around his small pint size body and his dark eyes appraised his father for a brief second before he flew out of his snug comfort just as the thunder collapsed in the distance. The chandeliers in the living room trembled and fussed, the small child clutched his fathers arm and struggled to stow himself under his armpit.

"Senshi, its s'not scary at all...remember when I showed you Chidori, you weren't scared of that, lightening is a lot like that...right?"

Sasuke knew he shouldn't spoil the kid but he couldn't help but holding him protectively and ruffling his inky spikes. He wanted to keep him calm and as much out of trouble as he could and he had been taking care of his son long enough to know that he went off his demeanor. If Sasuke was angry or impatient, Senshi behaved like the spawn of Satin merciless and wild. He usually kept to himself but these day's he was just the same as Sasuke.

Nothing did it for either of them these day's.

Senshi nodded beneath his fathers heavy hand, his silky bang tickled his small nose and the boy opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue. He turned his head to stare up at his father.

"NE...CHIDORI IS AWESOME...AND-AND...can I say the Bad A word?"

Sasuke chuckled fondly of his little boy and shook his head.

"Hn, your mom would squash me with a rock if you slipped up around her."

The boy's wide eyes closed and then he sighed with disappointment.

"...but she's not aroun...can we...visit her too-day, I made presents!" the boy pouted up at his father and Sasuke's brows raised just before he sighed.

"Hn, we'll see...if your good at school today, your oji tells me that you've been harassing your itoko, Minoto...was that true?"

The boy quickly hung his head down to stare at his toes. He scowled at the thought of being scolded by his father because of that idiot whiner Minoto Uzumaki had tattled to his oji and Tou-san.

"He's an idiot...who wont shut his mouth, everyone wanted him to shut up...but nobody would tell him not even Iruka-sensei would...so..."

Sasuke sighed.

"You took the liberty of telling him to shut the fuck up."

"Ne!" he cheered like it was an accomplishment. "Just like you tell oji to shut up...I like oji but he talks a lot too...a whole lot and every time I spend the night over there we always eat stinkin ramen, that stuff is gross...looks like wet worms."

The boy retched mockingly and then twisted around in Sasuke's hold to get on his knee's in the velvety sofa. He pulled down the afghan blanket on the back of the chair that used to be Sasuke's but Senshi had taken a liking to the blanket. It had the red and white uchiwa embedded in the intricate yarn work.

"Tou-san..."

"Hn?"

"I miss Kaa..."

"I know you tell me every chance you get but she'll get better and then you'll be back at home with her."

"...I don't wanna go back home Tou-san...then I will miss you...and I won't have a dad anymore, I'll be a bastard...Minoto said I was."

The child nuzzled his nose into his fathers rib and cuddled up in the afghan. The dark emerald in his eyes were solemn and Sasuke could tell he meant every word.

Sasuke was overwhelmed, he would be lying if he said that he had gotten used to having a son in the past six weeks. He had no idea that Senshi existed six weeks ago and when he found out a series of unfortunate events occurred which lead to his ex-wife fighting for her life in the hospital.

He didn't mean for things to get out of control but with the two of them things always got out of control and now..

Senshi was suffering...because I don't know the first thing about taking care of him and he really misses Sakura.

Sasuke remembered the first night Senshi had became his responsibility. The boy cried the entire day and didn't listen to a thing Sasuke had to say. He shrilled mercilessly tossed things around simply to be a living hell, Sasuke almost joined in but thanks to the nifty sounds of his Chidori, he was able to contain the irrational outburst of his child. Naturally, Senshi took a liking to the screeching of a thousand birds and was excited to see the current of light. Since then Senshi has been cooperating with him in hopes that Sasuke would take him under his tutelage when he gets old enough to be in the Ninja Academy.

Sasuke never blamed him. Hell, if he were a kid who had been pried away from his mothers side and forced to live with his father he would have thrown a maniac tantrum too.

"You...will always be my son Senshi whether we're together or not, my blood runs through your veins, hnnk?"

The boy nodded slowly.

"Your blood...what about Kaa's blood where does her blood run?"

"Hn, it's in you too...she will always be your mother."

The small boy yawned and his lashes were longer than any male eyelashes should be, he rubbed at his eye with his tiny fist.

"Tou-san...I'm glad your my dad...your the strongest most powerfullest Shinobi in Konoha!"

Sasuke couldn't help himself, it brought a small grin to his hard face to hear that Senshi appreciated him and he was highly opinionated but he didn't deserve that title. It all belonged to Naruto, he had brought him back after all, in time to show him what he would be missing if he followed through with his plan of revenge. They would have destroyed one another and Sasuke would have died...without ever meeting his child, his small seed to replenish his clan.

"Hn, where did you hear that from?"

The child thought about it for a moment and then looked up at his father, he placed his index finger on his lips and 'shussshed' his father and then, after discreetly looking both ways as if someone lurked in the dark house he whispered.

"Kaa-san."


	2. Episode 2

_'...you almost killed him..If Naruto hadn't intervened when he did...you would have killed your own son, Sasuke...'_

_'...you were...'_

_'Two months Sasuke...I was trying to save you...and you didn't want to be saved...I-I couldn't believe it...'_

_'You could have told me...'_

_'It wouldn't have mattered...y-you were different...and all I could think of was how much I wanted to save you...and save my Senshi from you...I wanted to kill you...because I felt like I didn't even know you...I still don't know you...pull over and let me out...I can't stand you...'_

_Save him from me..._

* * *

"Tou-san, TOU-SAN, Tou-san...TOU-SAN...TOUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

Sasuke looked down at the six year old child who held his arms up in a pose that Sasuke was truly unfamiliar with. The raven haired Shinobi stared up at the cloudy sky assuming that Senshi had seen a bird or something spectacular in the clouds. Sasuke was beginning to understand some of the things that sparked the tiny child's curiosity. They were small, insignificant little things to Sasuke but to Senshi they were spectacular sights, they engrossed him and claimed his attention span for long periods of a time.

"hn...I don't see anything...was it a bird again?"

Isn't it always a bird...

He thought dryly staring down at Senshi whom clasped his hand and began tugging his father towards the school drop in. A few children had already gathered on the grassy terrain of the front entrance with their guardians at their side making sure they had everything necessary for the first day, yesterday had just been a little taste of their days at the academy but today the children would meet their Sensei's again and get acquainted with their surroundings. Senshi wasn't particularly lively about today as he had seemed before, Sasuke had to wake the boy seven times and had a hard time washing him in the shower. As a result of their tussle in the bath tub Sasuke would be sporting a soggy flak jacket back to work. He would have left it to dry at the cleaners but he was sure there was a regulation against that somewhere.

Sasuke wasn't exactly sure what to dress Senshi in for his first day so he just found any old shirt and paired it with something else, Senshi didn't pack much from his home and they hadn't really gone shopping for any clothes. Sasuke didn't find any use in shopping.

All of the kids clothes were weird anyways...

Nothing with the Uchiha insignia, how was the boy supposed to know where he belonged if Sakura hadn't a trace of his fathers history anywhere. It was clear that Senshi didn't have a clue about his ancestry, his clan. His last name is Haruno on the birth certificate which made Sasuke bristle with unease.

She is really pushing this...convincing herself that I wont be apart of his life...she's wrong about that, he's the only one I have left.

"Niiii! you missed it pa...it was huge...a-and black...red eyes..."

"Hn, there's no such thing." Sasuke informed him although he looked up for the creature his boy described, there was no sign of such a creature and this had been the thousandth time that Senshi claims to have seen a red eyed black bird. He was fairly confident of his sight but Sasuke was beginning to think that Senshi may be delusional.

He's a kid being delusional would be normal...I guess...

"YA HUH, I saw it with my own twoo eyes." the child stated defensively still towing his father along with tugs that wouldn't make a size ten shoe budge but Sasuke allowed himself to be maneuvered by the little munchkin.

"Hn, alright since you've seen it with two eyes I believe it...your sight is your greatest asset."

"What's tha mean Tou?" Senshi questioned, perplexed, he fixed his big,wide, dark emerald eyes on his father. The corner of Sasuke's lips turned up and he knew he had the boys undivided attention, he halted their motion slightly figuring he could afford to educate Senshi with a few family facts...nothing difficult or hard to understand, something basic and elusive from the hate.

Remedial Uchiha knowledge.

my life before...wasn't all that bad...

"Hn..." Sasuke mused trying to think of a better way to word and sugarcoat it for Senshi about his power, a way to make him understand that he was apart of a much bigger picture than he was aware of.

"OJI, OBA!"

Senshi cried out in a very favorable tone and then broke from the grasp of his father. The boy darted to the green grass and was lost in the horde of students and parents awaiting the bell. Sasuke stared at him never loosing sight of the lime green slip of paper he had tagged him with earlier.

He knew something like this would occur again, he had lost Senshi numerous times at the market and in his apartment(and it wasn't even that big).

One day after finding him sitting on the fire escape, chocolate traces of fudge around his lips and a guilty look in his eyes Sasuke decided he would either buy a leash or make him carry around a loaf of bread, dropping crumbs everywhere he went.

He ate the bread and the leash seemed too cruel..so this is the next best thing and he's none the wiser of it.

Sasuke followed the lime green luminous paper he had tied around one of Senshi's zippers, it flailed around as he ran and his back pack bobbled on his tiny back.

Sasuke eventually caught up to him and snatched him up by the wrist.

Senshi looked up at him with a hard look and Sasuke could practically taste the words that would come out of his mouth and he was ready for them but before they could exchange any words of distaste of each others actions an interference came.

"YO SENSHI...AND TEME GET OVER HEREEE!" hollered Naruto in the exact same uniform as Sasuke, only, it had been in better shape.

Most of the Shinobi in the town were dressed in similar gear. They protected the city and even went on missions to insure the safety of the lives in their small city. Sasuke had never been involved in the politics of Konoha and he never wanted to be. He only wanted his revenge and he only knew one way to achieve it...he had gotten the revenge but it wasn't as sweet as he thought it would be. His revenge had been a lie, for so long he had seen the enemy as his brother and now things had changed; not only was his brother the victim of a cruel fate, Sasuke had never got to say goodbye to him...he never got the chance to beg for his forgiveness.

"Why are you guys just standing there, come on!"

Sasuke pried his eyes from his spawn, he released his hold. "Go on..." he said resigned understand where he was going now.

Sasuke stared at the blond whom stood behind a kneeling Hinata as she planted a kiss on her son's cheek, who could pass for Naruto's doppelganger had his hair been blond instead of black, but the eyes and the spikes matched up just right.

Senshi ran up to Naruto his arms out in that exact same pose he had did to Sasuke earlier.

was he expecting me to...damn...I didn't know..

"Oji!" he cried out and Naruto picked him up, with a wide grin.

"Hey little guy, your a big boy aren't cha?"

"Ne!"

"So...you don't really need Gama-chan anymore right...your all strong and your going to be the best Shinobi right?"

"Ne!...I don't need Gama-chan, I'm notta baby...Oji..." The child boasted closing his eyes and turning up his small nose cockily.

Naruto chuckled huskily and loud.

"That's great new's because you see, Oba-Hina and I are expecting a little one and well, I know it'll mean a lot to him to have Gama to help him through the tough times...like you had em."

The boy considered this for a moment, his lip became a hard line and then he shook his head.

"...but gama is...mine..."

Naruto's grimaced and then smiled.

"Ya it is...but just consider it ok..."

"Hn, ok Oji..."

Sasuke approached them just as Naruto placed Senshi down.

"Do you have to alert the media, we were only three steps away...idiot."

Naruto's azure eyes assessed Sasuke with something that he knew well, gratitude, he was glad to see that Sasuke had stuck around and didn't abandon his son. Sasuke rolled his eyes and noticed that Naruto's hair was longer than usual and his face had changed from before, it was harder and more authoritative but it didn't take him long to see the foolishness hadn't worn off.

..no matter how old you get or how many children you have you'll still be a dobe.

Naruto was by Sasuke's side before he had time to 'hn'. He shoved over a few parents to split a path and some turned to shoot obscenities at him but realized this crowd was strictly PG.

Sasuke crossed his arms over his Flak jacket and closed his eyes.

"You just had to make a scene, hn?"

"You bet your ass I did, your back for good...right...No slipping out of town anymore...no vendettas you need to settle, you don't have any other brothers right...?"

"There might be one, right here, right now if you don't shut the hell up..."he said and then. "I've been here for six weeks already where else am I gonna go, I had my ass handed to me by Tsunade just for the sake of being accepted here again, I'm not going anywhere."

"Well you haven't been assigned a squad...or anything so I didn't know what to think!"

"Hn...you have a squad?"

"Believe it we're the new team 7!"

"Tsunade's on drugs if she allowed you to be in charge of three human lives, that is so fucked up on so many levels."

"JOKE ALL YOU WANT but I'm a hero!...you missed a lot of things since you were gone...good thing you'll be at work today to hear all about how I saved the city, I even have a raman flavor named after me at Ichiraku's."

"Hn, now I know where not to eat today...is there a bar with strong liquor around here?"

"Sasuke, hello!"

It was Hinata Hyuuga wearing a dress that was very transparent regarding the bump beneath her small breast.

AGAIN!...does she just feel sorry for him or is he trying to replenish a a clan of his own...

"You've been busy..." He muttered to Naruto.

"More than you..." he muttered triumphantly, placing a hand at the side of his lip in secret. A pervie little grin graced his lips and he chuckled.

Hinata hugged Sasuke as if he were her long lost brother and then kissed him on the jaw.

"It suites you, the uniform and ninja gear...it's so nice to see you again...but...are you aware that Senshi's pants are backwards and his shirt...it's...well pink...I think I've seen that shirt on Sakura...well to come to think of it I'm certain I've seen it on her..."

what's she talking about...holy fuck they are...damn..

Sasuke looked over to find Senshi standing begrudgingly aside Minoto, whom was too busy engaged in a small hand held game. It was true he was wearing a pink shirt with an insignia that Sasuke had always seen Sakura wear on her attire, his pants were backwards with the stitched side up and his sneakers were the only thing that seemed to agree.

Sasuke sighed, had he really been so occupied with thoughts of he and Sakura's argument that he hadn't paid attention to his son.

fail...

"Teme what the fuck IS he wearing, hey..it's Sakura's shirt...I just noticed that it was pink...Teme, what were you thinking?" Naruto asked with a tremor of horror in his hoarse voice as he pointed.

Sasuke slapped his hand down and sighed.

"I'm so sorry..." Hinata spoke up timidly. "I just thought you should know."

"Do you have an extra shirt or something?" Sasuke said disgusted with himself for not noticing the irregular color on Senshi.

Hinata nodded and tucked a dark lock of hair behind her ear.

"Yeah Minoto always carries a spare shirt in his back pack, he's known to get himself into strange predicaments." she informs him in the lightest of voices.

That doesn't surprise me, like father, like son.

The bell rang just in that moment and everyone began to stray towards the building where a few other flak jacket academy teachers flooded out, holding folders and already beginning to call forward their students.

"Uh...I'll go get it and Naruto will meet you with it in the males bathroom."

"Hnk, thanks."

"No worries, your like family...I've always believed you'd come back to us!"

Hn, like husband like wife...

Sasuke didn't give a reply, he ambled towards his son and scooped him up. Senshi seemed to take it as containment.

"TOUUUUUU." he whined, trying to break himself away. Sasuke tossed the child effortlessly onto his shoulder like a duffel bag and Senshi cried out from fright.

"I'm gonna fall...I'm gonna die!" he shouted clutching Sasuke around the neck like a snake, his skin as soft as lace. His breath frantic.

Sasuke chuckled, it reminded him of the first time his dad carried him around on his shoulder.

He had thrown a fit too, Senshi had handled it way better than him.

"You will, if you don't relax." Sasuke teased.

The boy moaned and placed his head on top of his fathers unruly head of hair.

"Where we goin...ohhh...are we goin to see Kaa, I don't hafta go to stinkin school?"

"hn, you wish and not until you get out of school remember what I said earlier."

"Ya...I knowwwz, but you alwayz say tha..."

"hn, today is different..."

"You alwayz say that too."

"Hn, we'll go..."

"You say th-"

"Senshi..."

"Ok..." the child sighed and for a brief moment he was quiet, enjoying the ride on his fathers shoulder.

He had never been so high.

"TOU can I gett a-a-a game boy...Minoto has one and well he's a looser, how does he get stuff befoe I do!"

"Hn, we'll talk about it later...do you know where the bathroom is in the school?"

"mmm-hmm but do you promise..."

"Hn, I do."

"..and tou..."

"Ya"

"I'm wear-wing kaa's shirt.."

"Hn, I'm aware we're going to settle that right now...I don't even know why you packed it."

The small boy let out a sigh.

"...becawze, it smells like her...dozen it pa..."

Sasuke rolled his eyes up and could see the boys sorrowful pout. The wind wafted a scent into his nostrils and he could smell a cherry-cinnamon aroma slither through.

"Hn, it does..."

* * *

**One hour later...**

"Where are we going dobe, if this little detour of yours gets me into any more trouble.."

"I know, I know, you'll beat the snot out of me, pshh...if you could..."

"Hn, just tell me where we are going, I don't have time for your pathetic little games."

Sasuke states impassively looking at him as they walked down the white tiled floor of the hospital, their in synced foot falls were loud in the quiet corridor. Sasuke's hands were in fist in his pockets and his eyes watched a few Nin clad in white rush right down the hall past he and his comrade with an urgency to their step, shouting orders and directions.

"Damn...I wonder whats going on." Naruto mused staring after them curiously.

"Hn, maybe someone died."

"Wha...no...the only person on this floor is...Sakura-chan..."

Sasuke paused and Naruto did to, the two exchanged looks of understanding and then Sasuke flittered down the hall, Naruto at his flank with a determined but horrified look.

_Sakura..._


	3. Episode 3

The monitors were going off wildly and disorderly as if a hacker had breached the system.

Naruto beat Sasuke inside of the room due to Sasuke's dilema of stepping across the threshold. He hadn't seen his former wife since he busted their way out of the shattered glass of his windshield. She was unconscious then, bruised and severely unrecognizably gashed up from the the shards of glass. The impact of the accident had been too much for her. Sakura had gotten the full on blunt of the collision and Sasuke was the one to walk away with the minor cuts and bruises.

"Wha-what's going on...what the heck is happening!" Naruto was shouting out desperately, his face was too distressed for words and the Nin in the room shuffled around rapidly probing at the frail Kunoichi with their latex clad fingers and senbon.

Sakura lay stagnant in the clinic bed that swallowed up her small figure like a queen sized mattress would an infant.

Sasuke stood uselessly by, stuck in the door way and trying to read the panic in the room.

A nurse called for someone to get Naruto out but everyone seemed to have their hands full trying to disarm the wailing of the monitors as best as they knew how. Sasuke looked from the monitors, the lines were going all jagged and wild.

_Sakura..._

He felt his jaw clench and the one thing on his mind was Senshi. He and Sakura may have not settled their problems and couldn't very well get along but for the sake of Senshi he wanted that fucking monitor to cut it out, he wanted her to be ok.

"I'm not going anywhere!" Naruto shouted to one of the women who began trying to usher him out of the room by his jacket. She assured the big mouthed Shinobi that his 'wife' would be ok, which everyone seemed to disregard. She also told him that he'd be the first one to know when she was sedated. Naruto started to object and resist but the women was rather strong, beast like in fact, she shuffled him out the door and slammed it in their faces.

Naruto growled and gritted his teeth once he was on the other side of the threshold with Sasuke.

The blond boy punched at the door and breathed harshly as if he had just gone toe to toe with the buff women.

"Dammit!" he spat, staring through the small window embedded in the wood. Sasuke looked over at him and he could see the undeniably strong bond that Naruto shared with Sakura, they had grown without him, like true comrades and he was just standing there like a fool, afraid to confront what he had done.

This was his doing.

Naruto was all riled up over being kicked out of the room. Sasuke sighed and tried to ignore the shrilling monitors but the sound bounced around in his mind repeatedly.

"She has to be alright!" Naruto said to himself, his intense eyes locked in on the chaotic room of Nin as they worked diligently to resolve what ever had gone wrong in Sakura, whatever had caused her life to be in jeopardy at that moment.

_Maybe it was me...she probably sensed me coming and tried to take the easy way out...what the fuck are you doing Sakura, weren't you the one who said you didn't want Senshi around me...how can you save him if you die..._

"Naruto..."

"Hm."

"Sakura is strong...I would never tell her that but she is, she's changed...she'll make it, if not for anyone else...for Senshi." Sasuke said to his comrade as he stared through the window at Sakura's pale face, her hair was tucked beneath a gauze that bind her head.

Her eyes were closed and she remained in a state of unconscious as a male Nin ripped away her hospital gown and placed a palm firmly against her chest, a female Nin preformed the same gesture over her head. A slither of light green chakra began to create a haze of transparency where the women and man lay their hands.

Healing Chakara...her psychical injuries must be serious...not only that, her head injuries must be catastrophic if they are trying to heal beyond the vessel.

Sasuke couldn't pull his gaze away from her, something compelled him and caused him to press himself closer into the door, his bang slipped over his eyes.

Naruto was quiet at his side frowning with unease and worry.

"Why her Sasuke, why...what did she do to deserve this type of pain and just when...everything was going great...with she and oi..."

Sasuke listened to Naruto rant but continued to stare at Sakura trying to will her to wake up as if he had the ability to restore life with a determined glance.

If only...I could bring back those who's blood taint my hand...

The monitors fuss calmed gradually.

"What the heck are they doing in there...grr...this is making me crazy!" Naruto hollered as the robust Nin who had kicked him out began to draw a blind that hang from the ceiling. Naruto bristled with anger and reached for the nob, he began tugging and wigged it a little but gave up shortly when his entrance was denied.

He turned away with a stressful sigh and rubbed at the back of his neck, Sasuke turned away from the door, he crossed his arms over his jacket and rested against it.

"What a bitch." he sympathized in a thunderous tone.

Naruto snorted.

"Yeah, who the hell does she think she is..."

"Hn, apparently way more manlier than you'll ever be."

"Yeah..." he said thoughtlessly and then pointed at Sasuke."...VERY FUNNY TEME!"

Sasuke shrugged.

"Hn, and it's even funnier that it's true..." he stared humorlessly at the blond who was already looking fondly at him. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Gross...stop staring at me like that, you look like your going to make a pass at me...again."

"Pshh...don't flatter yourself Teme your not even that good a kisser!"

"What the fuck does that have to do with anything?" Sasuke wondered calmly, staring at Naruto with his impassive onyx eyes. The blond blushed reluctantly thinking about the Academy day's and then stuck up his middle finger.

"Suck on that!"

"Hn, no thanks...I'm not a fan of blonds."

Naruto fumed a moment about that comment but Sasuke didn't care, as long as he wasn't moaning and moping at the door he would take the loud mouth behavior. Hearing Naruto talk about Sakura only made him feel guilty, he had been the reason she was in there right now. It was he who refused to let her out of the car that night and it had been him driving.

He had pressed on the the gas one good time out of anger and fury and everything had just taken a turn for the worse...

'Is that how your going to be...your just going to leave town hn, brainwash him into believing that I don't exist '

'If it gives Senshi a chance at a normal childhood, if it gives him any chance at all to escape the generation of thirst for power...I will leave Konoha in heartbeat...you will never see him...he will NEVER...'

Sasuke couldn't remember what she said after, he wasn't sure if that was the point where they hit the truck, he wasn't sure that he was even mentally there. The last thing he heard, and it was something that he would never forget, was Sakura screaming and her fingers clawing at his arm just before the horns and the screeching of tires came into play. The impact went off like a nuke or a mind blowing explosion that made your ears pop and spew blood.

Sakura gasped and then gagged, he watched horrified, as her body was tossed around like a puppet an-

"SASUKE!"

The dark haired Shinobi looked up and spotted Naruto in front of him.

The change in him had been so evident that Sasuke couldn't ignore it. Sure he was still obnoxiously loud and hella annoying but it was manageable, in a way it was as if he had never left at all.

"What do you want dobe?"

"Nothing...you just had this weird look on your face."

"So?"

"I figured your probably worried about Sakura-chan too..."

"Hn."

"tch cut the crap, don't try to pretend you don't care, you may fool everyone else but you can't fool me...remember, we're one in the same..."

"When did this become about me?"

"When you tried to make me forget about what's happening...now it's my turn...to get your mind off things, until the Nin's comes out and tell us that Sakura-chan is fine and we can go in to visit. Senshi told me that you haven't been here since the day she was admitted, well, not in so many words but WHATEVER...anyways, the point is your not leaving here without going in there to talk to Sakura-chan. If she's going to pull through we need all hands on deck and that include yours Teme...understand?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Since when did this looser think that I'd follow him like most of the idiots in the city who decided to jump on the Naruto bandwagon...it's time for a wake up call ..

Sasuke sat up from the door and slid his hand into his pockets, he stared down the corridor and then sighed, he began to trudge down the hall.

"WHAAA!" Naruto shrieked out in confusion. "Where the hell do you think your going?"

"I'm going to work."

"What! why?"

"hn...if Sakura were conscious...do you know what we would be doing...?"

"...uh?"

"Fighting..." he answered. "...so why should I stick around and pretend that things were going good for us, it never has...not for a long time."

"Sasuke...you bastard-"

"Look, there is no sense in waiting outside of this room...the nurse said that you'd be the first to know anything...it's already around lunch time so just treat me out to some ramen ok, I'm not exactly financially hefty and I'm hungry as hell."

That stunned the blond shinobi. He had never known a time when Sasuke had wanted ramen, in fact the boy was always pretty clear that he hated noodles or anything that Naruto took a liking to.

Naruto chuckled a little.

"Your broke..."

"Hn, what the hell do you think, rogue ninja's aren't on the payroll dumbass."

The blond Shinobi began to dig out his very chic adult gator skin wallet, it was leathery and serious, nothing like his beloved Gama-chan but alas all childish belongings had to be passed down if he were to become someone that enemies should take as a serious opponent.

If Gama had dropped out of his pocket during the battle with Pein he would have looked like an sham-ninja. The orange haired Akatsuki would have probably would have laughed himself to sleep.

"Fine, I'll give you money to buy us some lunch...I'll use the payphone to explain everything to Baa-chan but you have to come back here, I was serious...about what I said before."

"Hn."

Sasuke snatched the money from his hands and then began to walk down the hall once more.

"Sasuke...she never gave up on you...not even after what you almost did...that's got to mean something right!"

Sasuke waved a joint-less hand to dismiss the question, and stared straight ahead.

"Mata ne."

_hn, maybe it did...before the accident..._

* * *

_School is bore-ing..._

The young boys dark eyes roamed the contents of his classroom and watched the other children gather in the activity corner to complete a task Iruka had just assigned them.

He called them Z-rank missions and they had began a points system for every student at the academy.

Senshi crossed his arms over his tiny little chest to hide the symbol of the Uzuamki on his shirt, the boy blew out a long breath and rolled his eyes at Minoto Uzuamki when their visions crossed.

_Tattling dobe...his shirt smells stupid!_

One of the girls in the corner kept smirking at him and then looking away when he had caught her.

It annoyed him and he didn't like her because of it.

He turned away from the corner and stared out the window and then down at the get well cards he had made for his Kaa-san.

He used crayons to draw her favorite cherry tree, the one in there old backyard...the one at home and he even tried to draw his Kaa-san standing beneath it.

Kaa's tree...but not kaa...

The boy sighed with aggravation this time and snatched up a crayon.

The picture looked nothing like his mother and he hadn't seen her in so long that he wasn't sure, he remembered.

Angrily the tiny boy began to slash blue wax marks across the card, his eyes intense.

"You are not my kaa!...my kaa is dead!"

That had to be the explanation, that must be the reason why his Tou and he never visited his mother.

_...or she just dozen want me...or Tou..._

The black haired child felt a silent tear roll down his face, his tiny heart felt heavy.

"Senshi...?"

The boy looked up at his Sensei and then began to wipe away his tears with fists.

"Senshi...whatcha got there?" Iruka asked him, pulling back one of the plastic dwarf sized chairs to join his student.

Senshi stared at the mess he had made of his mothers card.

He shoved it away.

"It's cwap!" he proclaimed in the harshest way, his lips trembled and he swept his bang out of his face.

Iruka's brows raised and he leaned into the small table hoping that it was strong enough to support his body weight. When it hadn't crumbled in beneath him he sighed with relief.

"Hmmm, lets have a look see...hmm doesn't look like crap at all"

The boy turned his face up to look at his sensei. The man stared at his work and pointed.

"So this must be...hm, pink hair...green eyes...your mother...Miss. Sakura Haruno, right?"

Senshi's eyes widened and he nodded.

Iruka smiled.

"Senshi you've nailed her, it looks just like the real deal...these are serious skills Senshi...but may I ask why you've scribbled all over it?"

The boy lowered his head and closed his eyes.

"I miss her...I have-ent seen my Kaa-san becawze she is dead." he admitted somberly.

Iruka sighed and placed a heavy hand on Senshi's head.

"Senshi, I assure you your mother is alive...I've seen her actually."

The boys head rose up quickly and a reluctant smile tugged at his lips, he wiped away the remnants of tears from his wide dark eyes.

"My kaa...when, where...what did she say...does she miss me!" the boy asked in excitement his brows raised high.

Iruka chuckled at his expression and patted his head.

"She was sleeping..."

The boys face sunk and he placed his head on the desk. His dark eyes seemed to dull down with understanding.

"She's alwayz sleeping...Tou say she's really reeally tired..."

"Your father is a smart man, she is very tired Senshi..."

"Why...is she tired becawze of me..."

"It's no one's fault Senshi, she'll be back before you know it."

The small boy nodded but all of the words were the same, people said the same thing and none of it ever happened. His Kaa-san was not home and he was not in his Kaa-san's warm embrace listening to her stories or her talking on the phone while she caressed his hair and he nibbled on chocolate chunk cookies.

The boy nuzzled the crook of his arm and sighed.

"Sensei-" he began.

"SENSEIIII!" It was a girls scream that pierced the classroom followed by the bickering of several children in the corner.

Iruka heaved out a sigh.

"What on earth is going on over there." he began to stand. "...Kei, Jun...!"

Senshi watched him leave from the table to attend to the scuffle. The boy stared at his card and closed his eyes.

A moment later Senshi Uchiha was soundly asleep.


	4. Episode 4

**These are Sakura's thoughts in her coma, that's why it's all in Italics...her memory is a bit fuzzy after the accident, I hope you enjoy and thx for reading ^_^**

* * *

_'...Senshi...you had a pair of lungs on you...didn't you...once you began crying none of us were sure that you'd ever stop crying, it seemed like all you could do, you looked like you would implode right before my eyes and I was scared that you would. Gosh, I remember crying with you...we cried and we cried like we could feel one anothers pain. My sweet little baby, I only stopped crying because I knew that one of us had to take responsibility. I'm your mother, why shouldn't it be me huh, ha-ha...Sekai e no kangei my little baby, welcome to the world..."_

It was an hour after labor and the young overwrought Kunoichi held a small pearly skinned newborn in her arms. He was no bigger than a pebble and his skin was paper thin and rosy. His face was so tiny and gentle; oblivious and breathtaking. His breathing was quick and new, his tiny little fist curled and placed against his cheek.

Sakura's eyes got watery again as she took in his features, the subtle strands of black silky hair that curled on top of his fragile small head, the way his mouth moved when he suckled on his small tongue and then she watched his tongue poke out of between his ips; lips so small that they would probably drown if she tried to peck him.

He was sedated since his arrival, he came into this world with a tenacious wail when he was extracted. He yelled his head off until he turned purple and the Nin could no longer put up with him. They handed the pearl fleshed baby boy to his mother and Sakura, as sweaty and exhausted as she had been pushing him out, crooned sweet words to him, talking to the newborn as if he could comprehend.

'So now you go to sleep...all of that crying and you just tap out on me...?'

He began to suckle his tongue rapidly once more and Sakura could see the slightest shade of green through a small crack in his eye lids.

'Those are mommies eyes...those are the best kind of eyes to have...' she whispered planting a small kiss onto his pulsing head. The newborn began to stir but he didn't wake. Sakura sighed slightly relieved that he hadn't. She had enough trouble talking him down from his uproar.

'You have the pipes of a choir boy' she smiled weakly, the fatigue spreading through every bone in her body.

She closed her eyes for a brief moment but then someone abruptly entered deterring the trans of sleep.

'Where is the little guy...did I miss him!"

Sakura shot a sharp look at Naruto and shushed him when her child began to become agitated of the sound of his voice.

'I know exactly how you feel, he's that loud everyday' she muttered and scowled at Naruto who grinned guiltily but eased down into a seat at Sakura's bedside.

'Let me see him, I bet he looks just like...'

Sakura angled in a way so he could see the child. Naruto seemed to gape speechlessly, his brows high and his jaw dropped.

'He...looks...just like-'

'Not that much..' Sakura spoke up quickly. '...and how dare you compare him to Sasuke...he wont be anything like that!'

Naruto pointed at the child in bewilderment with a trembling finger.

'I didn't say that...I was just sayi-'

'How's Hinata...did it go smoothly?'

Naruto looked tormented, he swallowed hard and pulled down the collar of his shirt to reveal an angry purplish hand print on his flesh there, it looked pretty nasty.

Sakura chuckled.

'It must of hurt...what she went through, a head like yours cant be so easily delivered, your kid may have an even bigger head.'

'HURT FOR HER...MY NECK FEELS LIKE A SECOND HEART AND YOU DON'T WANNA EVEN KNOW HOW MY BALLS FEEL...SHE FRIGGAN SOCKED ME!'

Sakura shushed him again and then rocked the child a little, she smiled down at his tiny nostrils and the traces of his dark brows.

'He's beautiful Sakura.' Naruto said beginning to stand, his face was bruised and scarred and the robe over his orange jump suite had been tattered from the still occurring war.

She stared up at Naruto and took a good look at his grim face.

'Where are you going?' she asked.

Naruto seemed distant for a moment but then smiled.

'I'm going to go find his father and I'm going to kick his ass...and then, I'm going to drag that bastard back here...'

Sakura felt her lips tremble to shout out a lot of things at Naruto's undying commitment to keep his promise but the only thing she could say was.

'Your kid...what's his name?"

'Minoto'

Sakura chuckled.

'How original'

Naruto stared at her dead pan.

'What's the little guys name?'

Sakura looked down at her little boy and wondered if this was how Sasuke's mother looked at him. She wondered if Sasuke looked as innocent as the baby boy in her arms. As much as she hated to admit it, he favored his father.

'Senshi...'

Sakura informed her comrade.

Naruto grinned.

'An Uchiha name...'

Sakura nodded.  
**fading into another memory...**

'gaaablaaaaa'

'Senshi, don't throw food'

'gggggggagaaaa'

'Sen, food goes in your mouth...not in mommies hair'

'GAAAAABBAAAAAAGAAABAA!'

The infant gurgled and saliva slipped down his small lips and then thinned into a long strand of spit. He was in his high chair making hand art with his spaghettios, he had smeared the zesty thick tomato sauce all over the flat surface and his plate had been dumped over, it's contents was spewing everywhere in that perimeter. Staining the clothes Sakura had just retrieved from the wash and splattered all over the linoleum ground of her new apartment.

Sakura sighed and watched the infant scoop up a hand full of spaghettios.

'Sen...you better not...' she warned him from where she sat at the table trying handling a patients file since she had been out of work to look after Senshi for awhile.

The child's head bobbled around a bit and he laughed at the look his mother was giving him.

'EH OH!'

He remarked and shoved the pasta-O's and sauce into his already messy mouth but he didn't chew. He spit it out and stared at Sakura all the while. Cooing out words and gurgling nonsense.

Then the little demon began to slap at the pile on pasta, sending sauce flying everywhere.

'EH OH EH OH EH OHHHHHHHH GAABABABAGYWA!'

Sakura stood up from the table and went to retrieve him out.

'Ok that's enough for you, next time I'm ordering pizza lets try to see you make a mess of that.'

She grabbed the boy up, he hadn't gotten any bigger but his hair had turned into a full layer of raven locks and he was no longer asleep all the time.

Nap time for Senshi was like recess and recess for Senshi, well, that was still recess.

He wasn't a crier, he rarely whines about anything but he could be a bit too much to handle. He was always getting lost in the house or locking himself behind doors(mainly the pantry). He hadn't crawled yet and if Sakura placed him on his stomach he looked like a sky diver, legs and arms out, or he would drag himself across the kitchen since the terrain was easier to slide across.

'Your like a penguin on ice huh?' she asked him the child fell into her embrace with a tired yawn.

'Eh oh..' he muttered

'Yes, Eh oh Sen'

**fading into another memory...**

'What did he say!'

'I think he said ma, oh Sakura that's great'

'No it's not, I didn't hear him so it doesn't count...Sen say it again..c'mon baby say it just once.'

The two maternal Kunoichi sat outside a field in Konoha with their son's. Hinata held a sleeping Minoto Uzumaki and Sakura held a perfectly alert Senshi in her arms. He fumbled around with a few Lego blocks and clashed them together with the other piece in his hand. He chewed it a few times but then lost hope somewhere along the lines.

'EH'

The boy sent one of the Lego's tumbling down a hill. He clapped his hands and seemed excited about this. Sakura stilled his celebration.

'Senshi...MAMA...MA...KAAA...MOTHER...'

She began to coax the child but he disregarded her taking another Lego and banishing it from the others in the fisher-price tool box Naruto had bought for his birthday that year.

Hinata stroked Minoto's hair back and 'wow'ed' playfully at the game that had easily gained Senshi's attention.

'Eh hehehe!'

Senshi tossed another one and the sound it made caused the boy to giggle.

Sakura sighed.

She was finding It hard to understand Senshi, well, not necessarily understand him but she was feeling like she wasn't a good mom. Hinata had better maternal instincts than she did and all Sakura had ever done was spoil Senshi rotten.

She spoiled him because she didn't want him to hate her. The hate of an Uchiha was strong and if she were the cause of Senshi turning into another avenger...a murderer, she would never forgive herself.

She sighed and stared at the sleeping Minoto.

'Don't worry Sakura he'll say it when he's ready to again...right Sinny?"

The child looked at Hinata and his eyes widened.

'GAAAA-GAAAA-GA-KAAAA-KAAA..'

Sakura would have been shouting for joy but Senshi fought his way out of her lap and ran to Hinata.

The pink haired women was hurt more than she could have ever known.

Senshi stood in front of a blushing Hinata chanting 'Kaa' and waiting to be acknowledged.

Sakura felt pathetic for tearing up but it was a kick in the gut.

'Oh no Senshi...that's your Kaa.' Hinata explained timidly pointing to Sakura.

Senshi looked over at Sakura and pointed a small finger.

'Kaa?' he asked.

Sakura laughed and cried at the same time.

'Yes...' she whispered to him.

The child beamed with delight and ran quickly to Sakura. She held out her arms and he fell into her with a yawn.

'Eh oh...kaa'

She held him tightly and grinned cheerfully at Hinata.

'Eh oh...Senshi'

**fading into another memory...**  
'Sakura...be my wife...if you say no I don't think I can maintain a friendship with you.'

'Sai...can we just, slow down a little'

'How slower can we get...what's stopping us from giving Senshi what he need's?'

'Senshi has everything he needs...'

'Sakura, I've read that little boy's need their fathers around to teach them things that women just don't understand.'

'What the hell are you talking about...my son is perfectly fine without a father.'

'That's not what he said to me'

'What did he say then!'

'He asked me to be his father, he thinks we should marry.'

'Oh my gosh, Sai he's a kid...I can't believe you actually asked me to marry you because of what Senshi said, stop reading books and search for common sense.'

'I didn't ask because Senshi asked me to...Sakura...I want to be apart of something...I want to be there for you and Senshi. Sakura...consider it, for Senshi.'

**fading**  
'Kaa...san'

'Senshi...Senshi go back to bed hun...I just had a bad dream if all.'

'I doyn wan to go sleep in my beb...I wan sleep in your beb...fweeees?'

'Ya, ok...climb aboard.'

The little child mounded the queen sized bed and nuzzled into his mothers arms. He liked to be tucked inside of her, she always felt warm and smelled like home.

'Mama..'

'hm?'

'You wer cwying...what wrong?"

'Nothing...I just...miss someone really important...'

'You lose them?'

'Yes, I did...'

'Let hab a avenchore, we find dem!'

'If only it were that easy you silly boy.'

'Avenchores not hard kaa...I help!'

'ha-ha, I know you would...your so brave and strong Senshi.'

'Kaa...'

'Senshi?'

'Is Sai-kun goging to be my pa?'

'...Senshi...it doesn't just work that way...'

'how doze it werk?'

'Your father...Senshi..your father and you look just alike, you look exactly like him.'

'Like Oji and Itoko Minoto!'

'Just like that...'

'So...where is he?'

'...I'll tell you about him later...ok...'

'I wan to..I wan to see him...'

'You can't...'

'Why nwat...'

'...Because Senshi he's dead...he died along time ago.'

Sakura felt her son tense up in her arms and then he began to cry a moment later.

'It not fair!'

'I know...Senshi...I'm-I'm sorry.'

"I'm so sorry Senshi I lied to you...I'm so sorry..."

**Present day at the hospital**

**_"Sasuke..."_**

Naruto's face jerked up and looked over to Sasuke with wide cerulean eyes.

"She's talking!...she said your name!" he jumped out of his chair at her bedside.

The raven haired Shinobi stared at Sakura with wide eyes.

**_"Sasuke..."_**

She said it again clearly, a moan from her lips and a longing in her voice.

Sasuke took a few steps forward to see his name come from her lips again.

Her lips trembled and then her body convulsed.

**_"SASUKE!"_**

She began to scream like someone was burning her. Naruto was at her side in a flash, he nearly jumped on top of the bed and began shaking Sakura.

"Sakura it's all a dream, he's right here, Sasuke and I are right here waiting for you to wake up. Come back Sakura, come back...dammit your not going to lay in here forever, I won't let you...GET UP SAKURA!"

He shook her but she had stopped screaming and no words came from her lips again, her body went limp in Naruto's arms.

He continued to shake her wildly, crying.

"COME BACK!...come back...Sakura..."

Sasuke tried to pry him off but Naruto shook him off like a pest and tucked Sakura back underneath the warm clean sheets of the hospital bed. He ran the sleeve of his Jounin garb over his wet face and then leaned over to kiss Sakura's forehead.

"Keep fighting...Sakura...don't quit, ok..."

The Nin came rushing back in, Naruto didn't respond to their questions. He began to walk out of the door. Sasuke stalked after him.

"Hn, are you fine?"

"I don't know anymore...the first time she's said anything...and it was to you, you left her...this is your fault! I should have never...nothing...it's time to pick up the kids."


	5. Episode 5

"Hn, whaddaya want for dinner kid?"

The boy sat silently at the table staring into the living room where the T.V was on, blaring in fact with highly animated voices. Senshi's head lay on top of his arm and with a despairing look on his otherwise cherub face. He sighed with a short breath and adverted his eyes towards his father. He shrugged, he wasn't very hungry but he knew that his Tou would probably like it if he ate. He didn't want to worry his father, he didn't want to make him leave too. He was only just starting to know his father and he liked having a dad around. For awhile the boy assumed that he had to find a father. During parent conferences or award assemblies, parents were always around, commemorating the moment with pictures, smiles and walking hand and hand with their children. Senshi often watched them and imagined that he was between two happy smiling faces. He drew pictures of his mother, himself and the face that he had never known. The child had always wanted to know if there was someone he resembled like the other children did their parents.

He sat up and a few crayons fell from beneath the sleeve of his light blue Pajama top and rolled across the tables surface.

"What do you wan for den-er?" he asked his father picking up a red crayon and placing it to the white printer paper that his father had stapled together to make a sketch book for his everyday use. Senshi had been guilty of using the bathroom wall as a canvas. He drew rolls of toilet tissue on the back of the door and he even drew a number two on the seat of the toilet. He thought it was funny at first but one day he had walked into the bathroom to see his father hard at work trying to scrub his coloring off the toilet seat. Senshi felt bad but his Tou brushed it off and explained to him that, in the man cave anything goes as long as you clean it up eventually. Senshi was confused, he had been told by his mother that he should never write on anything but paper. He expected his father to scold him, yell and curse at him but he didn't seem at all bothered.

"Hn, want some pizza?"

"Pizza...I like pizza."

"I know you do, that's why I'm ordering, there's nothing here anyways and I've got some loot to spare...we're not completely broke."

"Broke...what broke Tou?"

"Hn, don't worry about it...I'll be right back, you want bacon again?"

"Ne...bacon is yummy."

"Bacon it is."

Senshi watched after his father who had been only wearing his pajama pants and no shirt. The child often liked to compare his figure to that of his father. His Tou was so strong and adult, much bigger than Senshi who was short and meek. The boy wanted to look just like his Tou-san when he was bigger, when he was an adult he wanted to be exactly like his Tou because no one was better than his father. No one was stronger.

The boy grinned a little to himself and began to color with a jointless wrist as he always had.

He would draw a bird, he liked birds, especially the great big black one that he saw all of the time. He had drawn a lot of pictures of the bird but he needed one for his sketchbook. He started on the birds crimson eyes as he always had and he would get to the black feathers later.

Senshi thought about his mother and wondered if she were thinking about him or if she was happy to be rid of him. He had dreams of the latter, dreams that she had found herself a new 'little warrior' as she had always called him or she called him 'Sen'. He wondered if his Kaa-san missed him as much as he missed her. He wanted to be mad at her for being gone and leaving he and his father but he could never be mad at his mother, even if she didn't want him anymore.

The boy fought the urge to tear a page out of the sketchbook but then resigned from that Idea.

Sai-Kun says, keep the mis-take and fix it la-tor.

His father had walked back into the small kitchen of the apartment and Senshi looked up at him. He was looking down at Senshi's slightly sloppy blood red circle sketch with the crayons. Sasuke pulled out a chair and sat down, he leaned into the table and watched Senshi began to color gingerly.

His father had seen the bird too, in one of his dreams the bird covered his fathers body with it's enormous black wings.

It was the coolest!

"Hn, an eye?"

The boy nodded quickly.

"Ne, it's a red eyes, but not Yuhi-sensei's eyes...different, bird eyes!"

Sasuke stared at his smiling child when he admitted the eye belonged to that damn bird he's been obsessing over. Sasuke wasn't certain that the behavior came off as natural sometimes but he always wrote it off. Senshi was a very unusual child but he was unique. Sasuke could see that he had inherited the Uchiha genius and their complicated hair as well as their pride. Senshi refused to talk about anything regarding his mother and if Sasuke tried to bring it up the boy would suddenly go mute and continue to color. Sasuke decided he wouldn't push the issue anymore, he knew that Senshi had been crying in school and wanting an explanation. Iruka had told him as much during their after school conference last week.

_'He's very Young Sasuke and he's not a foolish child, he know's there is something wrong whether you've chosen to tell him or not, he's decided to come up with his own theories of why his mother's not around.'_

'hn, what are you getting at Iruka?'

'I believe that he deserves to know the truth, all of it, I believe that he should be allowed to see his mother.'

'He can't handle it, he's too young...it will kill him.'

'Like it killed you...Sasuke...this is different from what happened to you and you know it, Sakura isn't dead and you shouldn't treat her as if she is...everyone is hoping that she pulls through.'

'...what am I supposed to do...I don't know how to make him feel better...I don't know what the fuck I'm doing, what am I supposed to do since you have all of the fucking answers why don't you enlighten me!'

'hmph, be his father Sasuke, explain to him everything and I'm sure he'll understand.'

'and if he doesn't...if he hates me?'

'Your his father Sasuke, he won't hate you forever.'

'hn, but he will hate me...'

Sasuke stared at Senshi who's head was down as he scribbled away at the paper slightly content with his work. His hair was still damp from his bedtime shower he had taken earlier and it was lengthy over the boys small face.

"Senshi."

"Yes Tou"

"Who cuts your hair usually?"

"Kaa-san, she cuts Minoto's hair too!"

Sasuke furrowed a brow and Senshi looked up trying to swipe his hair out of his face, but it came back again and the small boy let out a growl of frustration. Sasuke chuckled at the agitation that touched his boy's small little face. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a rubber band, he swung it around his index finger.

"Hn, let's fix this...come'ere."

Senshi eagerly came to his father and Sasuke turned him around and then began to tie his hair into a ponytail, wounding the rubber band around the boys thick dark silky hair until it was secure. Senshi whined.

"eh, Tou, too tight...my head will break."

Sasuke smirked and then redid the ponytail. It was an odd thing to do and he had never tied a rubber band around anything in his life but he had seen Sakura do it tons of time. On their honeymoon he lay on his back and watched her tie her hair up. He remembered it because it was something sexy that she had always done. He hated her hair when it was tied up but he always liked to see her do it. Her long locks of pink hair twisting and sliding against her neck and throat.

"Hn, good nough?"

"Ya, much betta!"

"Hn."

Sasuke watched him go back to his work with a big grin on his face the whole time. Sasuke felt a smile tugging at his lips too and he wasn't exactly sure why, he quickly removed it. He sighed and stared around his very trashie apartment, the lights were extremely thin and it smelled like teriyaki and sweet and sour sauce. The living room held the evidence of Senshi Uchiha and so did his own room, Senshi had been sneaking into bed with him for the past three day's. He really needed to clean the place. It hadn't been to the point where bat's flew out from dresser drawers and vermin lived in his oven but it was pretty reckless and abstract.

I have Senshi to thank for that...

He looked over his shoulder towards the T.v, it was a black and white cartoon that he sure as hell didn't posses so he figured it must have been a D.v.D Senshi had brought from he and Sakura's home.

"What's this?"

Senshi stared up to look at the screen, the boys eyes grew wide and he pointed with the crayon.

"Kumo to churippu!"

"Spider and Tulip?"

"Ne, Kaa-san's faborite when she my age"

"Hn, that must be why I never heard of it." Sasuke muttered more to himself, scratching at the back of his head. He and Sakura had never discussed things as trivial as their childhood or likes and dislikes. They usually strayed away from things they knew the other didn't favor which was pretty predictable though at times things had often gotten intense and ridiculous between them. They had said viscous things to one another time and time again. Things that most people would never forget. He and Sakura were catastrophic together. When things were well, he was continent but when they got bad, he fucking hated it. He wanted out of any deal or vow. He had made Sakura that way...untrustworthy of him, hateful...he had destroyed her and she was perfectly fine before...the way she was when he didn't appreciate her.

He stared at the singing old school spider animation smoking a pipe on the screen just before the door bell gonged. He began to stand but Senshi popped up like toasted bread.

"Let me Tou..the pizza guy is fun!" Senshi hopped up and began to sprint for the door and then turned back around and held out his hand in a gesture for the money.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and then dug out a few yen from his pocket.

"Hn, I'll give you a head start."

Senshi laughed contently and then grabbed the money out of Sasuke's hands. He rushed off down the long dark hall, to Sasuke's surprise he hadn't bothered to activate the night light. Sasuke stood up to follow him, he couldn't have Senshi touching a heated box of pizza. He may not be a good father but he wasn't a complete dumbass. He knew how things like unexplained scars and bruises worked when a kid were involved and a social workers speculation was not something he needed added on to the speculation Konoha had on him already. He wasn't as off the hook or as free as most of the civilians thought he was. His missions weren't as elite and dutiful as most of the Shinobi. They were barely D-rank, if at all. They were menial tasks that required no use of power and strength. He would either be cleaning an office, a bathroom or something else mildly discussing or degrading.

I didn't expect the council to sweep this under the rug.

They even had him under constant surveillance. He could spot the black and white cloak-hooded Anbu from a mile away. They shadowed the citizens of the city and kept him aware of their presence just in case he decided to go back on his word and Sasuke knew they would attempt to kill him if he had and he knew that they would do a good job at wearing him down but he was positive that he was much stronger...but, he had no intentions to test it, he had no intentions to leave Senshi behind and turn everyone against him again. He just wanted to move past this annoying milestone and accomplish some kind of normalcy.

"Sen-geee."

came a babies small gurgle follow by a lot of spitting. Sasuke looked up to see Senshi holding the door open and Shikamaru and Naruto coming in, a barely awake Minoto at his fathers side rubbing at his red rimmed eyes.

"YO TEME."

Naruto held an arm full of groceries, a loaf of bread peaking out of one of them and a multitude of spices.

"...um what the fuck are you two doing here?"

"Oji...Shika and Inomari!"

Senshi said over joyed at the unexpected guest.

"Didn't the birthday boy tell ya, he's turning seven tomorrow."

Sasuke nearly gaped but only turned to Senshi who had been too occupied playing with the fair haired child in a heap of blankets in Shikamaru's arms.

"What...his birthday is tomorrow?"

"Yup, December...uh...first."

Sasuke stared at Naruto trying to see if he were lying but he didn't cut a smile.

"Teme, can we come in...these bags don't feel like cotton candy and I've got some glass things in here...urgh...to late...watch out!" Naruto sailed past him with the bags, Minoto following in his tracks.

Sasuke was thoroughly and utterly confused as fuck.

Tomorrow...how the fuck did I forget that...what, the, fuck!

To come to think of it he had forgotten the month and the day. Day's seemed to past and he had never seen any value or reason to know the date. Every day just seemed to bleed right into the next.

"Hey man...I hear you've been craving the devils nourishment, I've got the best in the city" He held up a six pack and Sasuke grabbed the pack from his clutches and already began to start on one.

He met with Naruto at the counter as he began to unload the contents of the paper bag.

"What the fuck do you mean December first"

"I mean...he was born December first...he's turning seven."

"He sure didn't say that to me, why didn't he..." Sasuke mused.

"Beats me, you should ask him..."

"No thanks and when the hell did we start talking again, the last time we talked you bitched about how everything is my fault and now you're in my kitchen and bringing over people who hate me."

"Dude I don't hate you, I just never really got the chance to like you, aside from trying to kill us I consider you a showboat...it's just like the Chunin exams all over again, except no one's throwing their beverages at me." Shikamaru droned, guiding the nipple of a pacifier to the child's slobbery lips, the baby whined minutely and then sucked it up. She fidgeted with her fathers chin and Shikamaru sighed.

"You are such a bother just like your mom...but I suppose being out of the house is better than being inside of it with her...ya-ya she's in one of those 'lady' moods again, oh well...Sasuke, is the living room off limits?"

"Hn, go on."

"Teme relax...Hina-chan and I have got Senshi's party all figured out...no sweat!"

Sasuke took a sip of his beer and the immediate kick of the liquor nearly knocked him out. He placed it down and felt his stomach churning with delight.

Fuck that stuff is...good...

"Hn...but I should have...thought of shit, I don't know how the fuck I could forget this what kind of father am I"

"Teme, you haven't been around...ya that's your own damn fault but no one is going to blame you for forgetting, we all know your trying to do the right thing now, your on our side again...and well I'm not saying this as an excuse or anything but it's not tomorrow yet, to tell you the truth I think the little guy forgot too. Everything happening with Sakura..., I went to visit her today..."

"Hn...any change?"

"None, she looks thinner..."

"Naruto, she can't get any worse...right..."

"She wont...she'll wake up I just know it...she's been fighting Sasuke, some people would have let themselves go during the accident but Sakura's still in there...I know it, she just need's us all to pull her out...pull her out of the darkness, so she'll know what it's like to walk out here again."

"Hn, very inspirational speech...to me,a box of spaghetti and garlic bread."

"I'm serious Teme...she's going to wake up...and everything is going to be fine."

He sounded sad, the marks on his cheek seemed longer. Sasuke patted his shoulder.

"Hn, good...because Senshi has been wanting to see her...and I can't think of a better time then tonight."

"uh, your going to let him visit her..."

"He's turning Seven right?"

Sasuke asked his blond comrade and tipped up the bottle of beer.

"Is this supposed to be your early gift or something...you know this doesn't count right."

"Hn, shut up."

The doorbell gonged again and Sasuke sighed.

"Pizza guy..."


	6. Bonus Episode

**A/N- Just a little bonus chapter. The 'what if' type. **

* * *

_'They say most people dream of things they desire or crave but I dream of things that I fear. I've dreamt of blood and death, I dreamt of loosing my self...I dream of loosing you and when I think of loosing you I realize that I'm not ready to. I'm reluctant to say it but I always scream it in my dreams, dreaming is the one place where my heart seems pure'_

Senshi woke to find his father's bed empty, the covers were rumpled. A raw orange stream of sunlight pierced through the dull Ivory blinds and a few birds chirped from somewhere beyond the open window.

The child sat up in bed and yawed, extending one arm high above his messy head of hair in a stretch to alleviate his stale small sinews. He than used his fist to rub sleep out of his eyes. The child wondered where his father had gone, he crawled to the edge of the comfy bed and found him, lying out on the floor board, hugging a pillow to his chest. His eyes were closed and he looked happy, well Senshi thought he looked happy anyway. The boy watched for a moment until he spotted a hint of creamy pink peeking under the pillow.

"uh...?"

The boy was intrigued, he inched closer to the edge and reached an arm out to grab at the fabric but his arms were just too short. He sighed and drew his arm back.

"hmm...guess I will hav to go down dere, sneaky Ninja no Jutsu." the child whispered and made a few innocent hand signals that his Oji had taught he and Minoto. Senshi knew his real Ninja training wouldn't began until he was old enough to be in the academy and his Oji knew that both boys were sad about not knowing any Ninja techniques so he always made it his first priority to bring them to meet his squad or let them shoot around miniature Kunai at the dojo in the backyard.

Oji-sensei is good Ninja too!

Senshi pushed the hair that was not standing up on his head behind his ear and then climbed down off the bed in his Pajamas. He got on his knee's once he was at his father's side and began to pull out the pink fabric. He realized that it was his Kaa's shirt but before he could remove it. Something sharp crushed his hand and made his heart skip a few beats.

"ah!" the boy shouted. His father's eyes had caught him and his hand clenched Senshi's wrist. Senshi smiled guiltily thinking his father was playing around but then froze when he saw his fathers eyes, how red they were and something black twisted like a revolver, the child gaped and Sasuke quickly closed his eyes with a gasp and jerked himself backwards at lightening speed. He tossed himself away from Senshi and hit the wall, the Shinobi fell to his knee's and clutched at his left eye in a struggle to contain something. His teeth gritted and his form shook.

Senshi was on his hands and his knee's watching his father undertake a force he was unaware of. The boy was bewildered about the whole encounter.

"I was just kidding Tou-san...you can have it back!" he shouted snatching up the shirt and offering it to his seemingly distraught father but Sasuke didn't answer the boy or acknowledge him. Senshi was worried now, he stood to his feet and dropped his mothers shirt. The essence of her seemed to fill the room just from that one piece of clothing. Senshi took a step towards his father.

"Senshi get out." Sasuke called to him, breathing very deeply, his hand still over his left eye. Senshi didn't budge. He wondered what was wrong with his Tou and if there was anything he could do to make him better. The boy felt an overwhelming feeling to cry and run into his fathers arms but something kept telling him to run away or hide. Senshi ignored it.

"I'm so sorry Tou...I say you can have the stinkin shirt I don't wan you to-be mad at m-"

Blood...

He saw it, the dark red blood falling down his Tou-san's arm like rain, slipping through his fingers relentlessly. The boy wanted to cry. His Tou was hurting but from where.

"SENSHI GET OUT!" Sasuke yelled at him and the boy was about to speak but he yelled again. "GET THE HELL OUT NOW!" he barked and the small boy gave him a fleeting look and than ran. He slammed the door shut and a moment later he heard his father yell again in pain, his voice was thunderously delirious; frightening the small boy. Senshi stood outside the door listening and waiting for him to be himself again but there was no sign of that for hours it seemed. A moment later Senshi began knocking on the door. He could hear a crackling of some sort and see smoke rising beneath the door.

"Tou...tou...I'm sorry...please don't leave me alone..."

He knocked again but there was no response.

Senshi felt his eyes welt up with tears but he stood on his toes and twisted the knob to open the door.

Once he did, he saw it, everywhere...

Black fire...black...but fire is orange...fire is red...

The child looked from left to right for his dad and found Sasuke laying on the ground passed out, his eye immersed in blood and blood even fell down the corners of his lips. Senshi stared at the black flames and watched them chew up everything in their path, there was a line of writhing fire across the room, splitting it down the middle in fact. Senshi couldn't remember his fire safety drills in school.

He ran over to his dad and began to shake him.

"Tou!...touuu! tou wake up...ever-rey thing burning...black fire!"

He hollered and then began to cough, something was stuck in his throat and he couldn't seem to shake it.

"Daddy!" he got on top of his father and tried to shake him, he even slapped him a few times but Sasuke gave no sign of life, there wasn't even a rise or fall to his chest. The boy began to moan and cry bitterly. He didn't care if he died, he just wanted his father to open his eyes.

"I'm sorry...this is my.." he started crying louder. "...this is my..." he couldn't spit it out, he placed his face against his fathers and closed his eyes.

He held Sasuke tight and sniffled. Senshi closed his eyes and listened to the birds screaming outside, probably dieing. That made him cry even more when he realized that his black bird could be out there...burning in black flames. The child watched the flames began their journey to the door to entrap he and Sasuke.

"Daddy..." he whispered tiredly. "...please wake up, don't leave me!" Senshi punched him again, right in the face, so hard that it made more tears come to his eyes and this time Sasuke groaned.

Sasuke's eyes opened slowly and Senshi could see that they were still red, but nothing moved inside of them. They were calm, they were..

Bird eyes...like my bird..red..

"Senshi?!"

"Ne..papa, flames...black flames!"

He shouted pointing.

"Fuck..." Sasuke muttered trying to see clear but everything made no sense. He was dreaming...he was dreaming that he had been fighting Madara again and then...Sakura Interfered, Madara wanted to kill her...he wanted Sasuke to prove his loyalty by getting rid of his spouse. He peeled Sakura from Sasuke's grasp and he...

Sasuke clenched his fist remembering when the reality crossed into the dream. He spotted Sakura's shirt laying there beside him and knew exactly what happened.

Senshi must have tried to take it...I...I...lost control...

Sasuke Grabbed up Senshi and then grabbed a blanket from the bed. He wrapped it around his son and Senshi kept asking him if he was leaving him.

"Hn, I'm not going anywhere Senshi..." he informed the boy. Senshi coughed harshly and then stared at every corner of the room to where the flames were spreading.

"Papa I'm scared..."

"Senshi..I will die long before you do, close your eyes."

"NO, Don't DIE TOU!" he screamed. Sasuke shushed him.

"Close your eyes...Senshi."

The boy swallowed and did as he was told, Sasuke covered his head with the heavy blanket and then made sure no flesh was left uncovered.

Once finished, Sasuke found an opening in the window that was almost near extinction. He lurched at the opening thoughtlessly knowing for sure that the flames would graze him at some point but he kicked off and flitted to the out side.

Once they reached the outdoors he placed Senshi down for thorough examination and then began to check himself when he found that his son was unharmed. So was he. They were in the backyard. Sasuke crouched down and grabbed Senshi's face.

His heart beat seemed erratic and a panic that he had never felt before overwhelmed the shit out of him.

"WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING, YOU COULD HAVE DIED!" he yelled at the boy staring from both of his eyes and gripping his face hard.

"If I tell you to get out, you get out...run...don't you fucking come back!" he yelled without taking another breath. Senshi was scared, his father was screaming at him like a mad man and that had never happened before. His father was a calm man, he had never looked so angry at him before and Senshi hated that he was the recipient of the look. Tears fell down his face and he nodded, taking short breaths.

"I...didn't wan to leave you...I don't wan you to leave me...PLEASE DON'T GO AWAY!"

He shouted. Sasuke stared at him for a moment and more blood fell from his eye and liquid from his right. Senshi 'uh'ed' and stared at his Tou. Sasuke wiped it away quickly but Senshi grabbed his hand.

"Your...sad?"

Sasuke couldn't speak, his emotions were heightened beyond his control and everything seemed to be making trouble for him. He shook his head.

"Senshi...I'm sorry...I could have-"

"...you can cwhy Tou-san I don't mind...we can cwhy together...hnnk" Sasuke tried to hide it but Senshi wiped it away with the heel of his palm and then he pulled his father into his arms and held him there for a moment.

The young Shinobi could not think straight, his eye was on fire and pulsing dangerously, his apartment was burning to the ground and he had nearly killed his son with Amaterasu.

For the first time in his life he felt wrong, about everything he had ever known and he was scared because he did not know what he would have done if he had destroyed his own flesh and blood, his boy. He pulled Senshi down and held him tightly, his fingers slipping through his child's hair and his arms folding the boy into himself.

"Thank you...Senshi." he whispered.

"I love you Tou-san, just don't leave...don't be mad...I sorry"

"Senshi...I'm not mad, I don't know what I am but it's not mad...Shit, I have to start taking better care of you..."

"Hnnk."

His father shivered against him and Senshi knew it was taking a lot for him not to cry.

"It's ok...tou...cwying makes it all better, that's what Kaa say...Kaa cwy's...at night."

Sasuke listened to him and stared at his apartment. He could hear a few sirens in the distance and a moment later the ANBU had appeared in his backyard looking suspicious.

Senshi stared up at the animal masked high rank Ninja and gaped.

"WOOOOW...ANieBU GUYS TOU!"

"Hn, I'm aware..." Sasuke stood and shuffled Senshi behind him. The Ninja stared at the bruised up Shinobi and one of the fox masked white coats stepped out of the assembly line.

"What seems to be the problem gentlemen?" Sasuke asked.

The leader looked over towards the flame and then back at Sasuke.

"hm other than the fact that your house is burning in the hellish fires of Amaterasu...nothing"

"I'm renovating, Senshi wants a bigger room."

Senshi peeked out from behind his father and stared at the masked Ninja. They were so cool and ninja-like and Senshi wanted them to show him their magic tricks but he knew this visit was strictly adult only so he just kept his mouth shut and admired them from behind his father.

"Haven't you ever heard of power tools, instead of releasing such a dangers technique into a tight knitted community?"

"Haven't you ever heard of minding your own damn business, you guys were just waiting for me to slip up at any cause...and now that I have, your drilling me in front of my kid."

"It's very unfortunate that your boy has to be in attendance...but even more unfortunate that you will be coming with us, the Hokage wishes to meet with you."

"Hn, Sure...but let me deal with my son first."

In the blink of an eye they had fled, leaving behind a few leaves snatched away from a tree and a whistle.

"THEY ARE COOL!" Senshi raved tossing up a fist.

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"They're grade A fuckery...hn...Senshi...let's go. I'm taking you to Naruto's."

"Whyyyyyy?"

"because Tou is in deep shit..."


	7. Episode 6

**A/N- And so it continues...I didn't really like this chapter but ah well it had to be done. It's pretty long. =O  
Sho means small **

* * *

_'Sasuke...'  
_

_'Hn.'  
_

_'Let's try, really try, not to fight again ok...'  
_

_'Sakura, I'm tired..can we talk about this tomorrow.'  
_

_'No...Sasuke please it can't wait I'm afraid that if it's not today we'll keep putting it off and eventually things are just going to get worse.'_

_'Sasuke?'_

_'...'_

_'...Goodnight...'_

* * *

"Do ya think I screwed up...maybe inviting all of these kids wasn't a very good idea." Naruto admitted staring at the sparse crowd of migrating children in his backyard Dojo, there were three activities set up to keep everyone occupied but some of the children had discovered the table of snacks and forgot all about the games.

"Hn, when are any of your ideas remotely good ones?"

"Tell me about it if there was a chance that we were all invalids and you had to lead us to safety I'd find the nearest shuriken and take my own life."

"HA, well that doesn't make any sense, if you are invalid how would you get to the shuriken!"

"I always carry one on me for purposes such as those or any purpose really, I'm a ninja, shuriken are a must...don't you know that by now Naruto, most Jounin do..."

"GRR WHATEVER KIBA, HOW ABOUT YOU MAKE YOURSELF USEFUL AND APPREHEND CHOJI FROM THE PHOTATO CHIPS...he's been over there for two hours now and we don't have much left and I'll be damned if Hina-chan makes me put out my Puff-Puff's!"

Naruto held up his fist and the baby in his arm cheered.

"On it." Kiba whistled for Akamaru to follow but a few small girls had the dog surrounded, braiding his tail and playing tug-a-war with his fluffy ears. Kiba didn't seem

to notice. He headed for the portly ninja posted at the snacks table amongst the little munchkins. Sasuke watched a kid stuff a few home made cakes into his pant

pockets and then dart off.

"Hn, what do you want me to do dobe?"

"eh..well for starters how about you smile, this is a party not a funeral and your scaring princess Inomari...isn't he sho-pig?...bad Teme...raining on your

parade...with that poopie Uchiha demeanor!"

Sasuke peered at the blond little infant who's teal eyes studied him with uncertainty and wonderment. Slobber fell down her tiny peach lips, she popped them giddily

and began to shout out gibberish.

Naruto had dressed her head in a pointy cone hat with steamers curling down the back in vibrant colors of red and black. Inomari was a ball of fire, she was known

for her frequent shouts and grabbing at hair or clothing that just so happen to hang her way, anything in her reach she felt obligated to yank it. She was one of

those babies who really caused problems for their parents in public places.

Her favorite words were 'gimme','sen-gee','mine' and 'Daw-da'

_I don't know how those two pull it off Ino and Shikamaru, they don't even look like the parent type...I don't know...how Sakura pulled it off..._

Sasuke found himself wondering what type of baby Senshi had been. Had he cried incessantly when he was without a bottle or did he simply sleep all day and prattle

all night. Either way he couldn't imagine doing it alone, he had a bad time as it is dealing with Senshi now.

_Hn, add a few diapers and hair pulling and I would be in hell._

The raven haired Shinobi ran his tongue over his bottom lip and took a sip of some Kiwi lemon punch Hinata had concocted a second batch of not too long ago. He

sought out Senshi and found him amongst all of the boys and girls Naruto had invited for the, 'backyard Dojo extravaganza' as he began calling it only this morning

when he saw something similar on the news.

_All planed out my ass, he wasn't prepared for shit and we were running all over town._

Sasuke had showed up at his comrades home three hours early since they didn't go to the hospital as he intended. Senshi was too tired and Sasuke didn't want to

deprive him of his much needed sleep. Sasuke, however, did not sleep. He held Senshi in his arms and thought of ways that he could make everything up

to his little boy. He couldn't get over the disappointment that he was as a father. Watching over Senshi last night he knew that he needed to do something to make

their situation better. He needed a grand gesture to wipe away the apprehensive thoughts of his child.

You only turn seven once and Sasuke hadn't had too many birthday's as a child. Things like that ceased when there was no family to come home to, no parents

awaiting his expression when he stumbled across the surprise. He used to look forward to the month of his existence but something changed and every year that he

had turned another year older he hated his older brother a bit more.

If being a father was as easy as carrying out a vengeful act he would be the worlds best fucking father and probably have a shit load of kids too but it was much

harder than the cloak and dagger stuff. When he was a rouge he only thought for himself, he only cared about the death or confinement of his target, he was a

predator for blood but now, he was responsible for a child, his child.

He hadn't been doing well being responsible and forgetting Senshi's birthday made him feel like the sleaziest piece of shit.

"Look at the little guy looks like he's having a good ol time huh...see...aren't you glad you came three hours earlier to help me set up all this stuff?"

Naruto held up one hand to indicate how well they had patched up the Dojo considering it had been anything but durable. Hinata had done the décor, she stapled up

the leaf signs and flashy happy birthday decorations all over the Dojo to make it look less of a place to train and fight. It actually looked like a place to reserve a

party. She had really out done herself with all of the streamers, colored tissue paper and Ninja props.

"Hn, I guess."

"What do you mean you guess!"

"Exactly what it sounds like, don't blow it out of proportion."

"Why the heck would I blow anything out of proportion, I'm the most understanding guy you'll ever meet, believe it!"

"...hn, look in the mirror and say that to yourself."

"Wha...but I'm not talking to myself...oh haha you were kidding...nice one Sasuke...SASUKE?...TEME...SERIOUSLY!"

Sasuke watched a few children began to spin Senshi around, he was wearing a blind fold and a grin was plastered to his small face. Sasuke allowed himself to grin a little when he saw the grin on Senshi's face just before Naruto roared out in raw pain.

Sasuke looked over to see that Inomari had successfully gotten into his hair and was now trying to rip a few strands from his scalp. "HO-SEY!" she yanked as if she were pulling on the reins of a stallion.

_hn, more like a miniature ass if you ask me._

Sasuke couldn't help but to laugh and applaud the babbling baby who squealed with delight at his encouragement. The dimples in her chubby cheeks had been deeper than most kids but none the less stunning on her angelic face.

"OW!, Teme a little help here...I'm too young to lose my hair, it's all I've got going for me...urgh...I beg of you!"

"Good baby!" Ino crooned, the blond Kunoichi ambled forward with a stroller arrayed in light purple sparkles. She was hand and hand with Shikamaru Nara, whom as always looked like he was either high or going to be.

He nudged his head at Sasuke in a greeting and Sasuke adopted this gesture, nodding back. He didn't want to socialize, he just wanted a beer, a chair and a good nap but he knew that wouldn't be happening.

"Hey looser, hey Sasuke...hello mommies little monster...Mari, can you please let go of that idiots hair...mommy doesn't know where that's been and neither do you!" Ino said in a gushing way, all teeth and cheeks even though it was an insult.

The infant didn't have a clue what her mommy was saying but she was impressed, she released Naruto in the hopes of a trade up. Her little arms extended out to her mother as she bucked in Naruto's arms excitedly chanting. "ma-uh-ma-uh-ma-uh-ma" Ino chuckled at the spectacle and then reached out to take her child.

"...aww baby girl, come here...I'm just as surprised as you mommy didn't know there would be clowns." she teased raising her thin brows and grinning challengingly at Naruto.

"HA-HA" Naruto said dead pan prodding at his scalp. He winced a few times and then sighed.

Sasuke smirked.

" and to think...you'll have all of that to do over again really soon."

Naruto's eyes came open and he sighed harder but eventually began to laugh.

"I know right, but, it's all worth it when they get older...they make for really good memories you know...Man if I had a dollar for every strand of hair I lost when Minoto was going through that phase. He had a fetish, crazy kid even pulled out his own hair." Naruto mused with the strangest smile, Sasuke saw that he was looking at his expecting wife and his son, his hands shuffled around in his pockets and key's jingled.

Hinata was wearing a silky purple tomesode and assisting her son in blowing up a balloon.

Minoto hopped on his toes eagerly wanting to try it out himself.

"They're only seven once and then they're eight and it goes on and on...I wish he could stay this way, nothing will ever be as easy as it is now with our sons, they are young and they look up to us. It's best that we raise them to be honest now...because I don't know if they're gonna wanna hear from their old dads later, I know I didn't..."

Sasuke side glanced at Naruto and wondered what he was thinking about. His eyes were staring up at the clear blue sky admirably.

_Hn, what goes on in that big head of yours...are you an idiot or a genius? Maybe both...hn, I guess you've changed. Your still weaker than me but at least you're not as worthless as you were before. I can admit when my opponent matches up to me, but I will never admit defeat. Maybe I'll bring up a challenge when the smoke clears around here. You could never turn down a fight with me...I know that much hasn't changed._

Sasuke found himself smirking, remembering those times that he had out shined Naruto in most things. They were always competitive back then. The tables had

turned now and it was Sasuke who was being out shined. He had to admit that hearing Naruto speak with experience about parenthood made him a bit jealous.

Naruto had been the most immature idiot in the class and here he was, giving Sasuke tips on how to be a good father. Something that Sasuke, had never even

envisioned himself as...something he would probably never be.

_I guess that dobe is the better man when it comes to this...to family..._

He had always explained to Naruto that they were nothing alike because Naruto had never had a family to lose. He thought that being alone was of no comparison to

his loss but really there wasn't any difference. They had both been alone, without families and now they had the chance to make their own. He had a son. He went

from loosing it all to having a son and he was just beginning to realize how much he had been overlooking the situation. Senshi was his son, an Uchiha...the only one

left aside from himself. They were a clan of two, something special that he should have shared with his son the moment he saw him.

Naruto belched abruptly and then heavy handedly smacked Sasuke on the shoulder.

"WELP who wants some cake!" Naruto shouted out and that seemed to get everyone's attention, Shikamaru and Ino turned to face him and Hinata seemed

bewildered. She looked to her husband and could see that he was the one who wanted to rush to the cake.

Hinata chuckled and confirmed it to the children with her usual smile and nod.

"Yes...yes..everyone gather at the table of gifts...hun, come get the other birthday boy, I'll get the cake." She narrowed her eyes at Naruto who began to protest.

He scratched the back of his head just as she approached and placed a kiss on his lips, shyly, she meant for it to be a rapid symbol of affection but Naruto grabbed

the back of her head and placed a longingly safe kiss to her light red lips and then he kissed her scarlet flushed cheek.

He muttered something and she giggled in that way that Sasuke could remember hearing from Sakura but it wasn't quite the same. The way Sakura laughed...

_Hn, it was only real when she snorted...once she started laughing it was hard to stop her..._

He could hear her giggle in his head, he remembered the bellish sound of it and how her eyes seemed so vibrant. She giggled when he was sarcastic...saying dirty things or just being naughty to her which had been more times then not during their honeymoon. They stayed indoors for nearly two weeks just enjoying one another. They hadn't talked much, they were basking in the bliss of premature marriage. He didn't know when they had began to hate each other.

"Tou...It's Mino's birthday too...why do I have to share with hem!"

"Hn?"

Senshi was tugging at his fathers sleeve. Saske stared down at him and then crouched down with a sigh. Senshi had been dressed in a dark blue Happi, much like Minoto's orange Uzumaki clan version except the Uchiwa graced his back, it used to be Sasuke's party wear. Hinata tied both boys hair into a bun. Senshi's green eyes captivated him for just a moment, they mirrored his mothers intensely.

"You two were born on the same day."

"So's...why does he have to be at my party...I didn't invite the loozer I don't wan him here!"

"Hn, Sens-"

"NO!"

He had that look in his eye. The one that Sasuke had seen on the day that he had first been given custody.

Sasuke grabbed his hand and the boy looked down.

"Hn...I've got a present for you..."

The boy listened and waited, a frown still on his face

"What is it?"

Sasuke smirked and felt Senshi gripping his hand with his smaller ones.

"mmmm, don't remember..." Sasuke played coy.

Senshi's frown melted into a grin and he fell into his fathers shoulder.

"Touuu" he whined with a small sigh.

"Hn, if you play nice...with Minoto for today and share with him, I'll consider giving it to you."

The boy gaped in disbelief.

"Bu-"

"Na-uh."

"Tou."

Sasuke opened his mouth to speak but a much lighter voice cut through their conversation.

"SENSHI! SENSHI!"

Sasuke looked over his boys head to see a red haired girl standing behind Senshi. She was rubbing at the end of a long thick braid over her shoulder and awaiting Senshi to acknowledge her. Senshi rolled his eyes and kept close to Sasuke. Sasuke would have probably burst into laughter if he hadn't known exactly how it felt to attract unwanted company.

_Damn...I didn't have it this early on..._

"Hello Senshi's dad, can I speak with Senshi alone pretty please."

Senshi grabbed at Sasuke's wrist and shook his head against his chest. Sasuke placed a hand ontop of his boys head and sighed.

"What's your name?"

"Suri! What your name?"

"Senshi's dad"

"Really?"

"mmh hmm."

The girl laughed at that and blushed slightly. Sasuke resisted rolling his eyes. It was funny to see it happen to Senshi but it was not a good thing to see it happening to him.

"Well Suri, Senshi is in big trouble right now but I promise he'll talk to you later hnnk."

The girls eyes stayed glued to Senshi's back and then she blushed profusely and nodded, she began to walk backwards bowing a few times.

"O-ok...I-I'm sorry." She picked up the hem of her dressing and began to dash off towards the grand table where a few people were just beginning to gather, Hinata crossed holding her home made peachberry cake aloft and checking on the ground to avoid the infamous slip and ruin the cake gag.

"Hn, what was that all about?" he asked Senshi.

The boy shrugged his small shoulders.

"I don know, she wont leave me alone, shez stupid and weird."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah!"

"Than why are you blushing?"

"HUH...I am not!" the boy exclaimed defensively, trying to hide his cheeks.

Sasuke rose to his feet and chuckled on the inside. It was true, he hadn't been blushing before...  
but he was now.

"girls are stupid." he went on to say. "Not Kaa-san...kaa..."

His face seemed to drain of any excitement and his head fell slightly. Sasuke placed a heavy hand on his son's head.

"Hn, ok you drew it out of me...today we're going to go see your mom."

The boy looked up and Sasuke's fingers slipped through the dark silky strands, the ponytail was a bit loose.

"Reeeeeeeealy?"

"Really?"

"You say this all ta time!"

"but I mean it this time."

"You said that too!"

"Senshi."

The boy grinned up incredulously at Sasuke and the color seemed to reanimate his face again, Sasuke smiled down at him and felt something strange in himself that made him feel even stronger. It warmed him, knowing that he was responsible for the smile on his son's face. Not this party, but him.

Then some fucktard cleared their throat loud enough to scare away a pack of wolves.

Sasuke looked towards the sound and spotted a pale man with a composed face. He was wearing a opened green Flak vest and a stiff lip.

"Hn, can I help you...what do you want?"

The man with the short cut and the dark eyes tilted his head.

"I would like to speak to Senshi, I have something to give him."

He answered simply trying to look at Senshi but Sasuke had shuffled the boy behind himself. Hinata began calling for the birthday boy but Senshi was trapped behind his father trying to see who the soon-to-be-dead-stranger was.

"Hn, gifts are on the table." Sasuke swung his head towards the area where everyone had now been present.

The man smirked.

"It's vital that I give it directly to him, listen I don't want any trouble."

"Hn, well you've go-...Senshi, what are you.." Sasuke tried to grab him but he was already in plain sight.

"SAI-KUN!"

Senshi slipped out from behind his father and ran to the strange man, whom grinned and knelt to receive Senshi in his alabaster arms. Sasuke stood there for a moment dumbfounded and slightly uneasy about the transaction.

_What the fuck...who is this guy..._

Everyone behind them seemed to be quiet and when Sasuke turned around everyone was staring as if they were about to witness an explosion. They quickly pretended to be occupied with other things when he caught them; someone even did the cliche whistling.

"Senshi...look at you.."

Senshi seemed to glow from that compliment. He stood tall and shook his head.

"I don't need veggies anymore bacon pizza made me swong!" Senshi flexed and pointed at a barely noticeable lump of muscle. "See, see Sai-kun!"

"I see, your almost bigger than me." the man claimed in mock exaggeration, Senshi smiled proudly.

"Who is this?" Sasuke questioned his son. Senshi stared up at the man and smirked.

"He's Sai-kun, my other Tou-san, I have two now!" the boy held up two fingers and then grasped both Sasuke's and Sai's hand.

"Common, Tou's letz go get some cakes!"

Sasuke bristled with anger and almost wanted to punch the impostor in the face but he knew that would be a bad example and he knew that it would be a little over the top considering the man looked just as confused as he did. Sasuke stared at his hand and spotted a wedding band on his finger.

_Hn, maybe he is gay...he looks pretty gay to me what kind of guy wears a belly shirt?_

"Oh...look everyone it's Sai...comming...over here...with Senshi and Sasuke..." Naruto stated mechanically like a really bad actor. As they approached the table everyone seemed dead silent; impenetrable tension was in the air.

"WHAT!...SAI...WHAT THE F-"

Some of the children gasped at Ino's vulgar tone and Inomari pitched a heavy cry.

"Ino!" Hinata cut her off, nearly shrieking. She covered Minoto's ears and looked towards her husband who was practically gaping.

"Sorry...this is...I mean...hey Sai, you're back pretty early." She too waves mechanically.

Senshi hugs both men's arm and he smiles happily.

"Oh, we were discharged from the area, mission complete and I rushed over here as soon as Tsunade told me the news...I ran into Kakashi a few hours ago on my way to buy a gift...I'm sure he'll be here too."

There was silence again. Ino had calmed Inomari down, rocking her a bit.

"Isn't that...great." she said between her teeth with a ruse of a smile on her lips.

"Yes it truly is...so where is my fiance, where's Sakura?"

More loaded silence some eyes turned towards Sasuke, who would have looked impassive, if not for his hands coiling into a bullet fists.

"AWWWWWWWKWARD..." Choji called out between stuffing a piece of cake into his mouth.

"CHOJI!" everyone with the exception of Sasuke shouted.

"Fiance..." Came Sasuke's thunderously low voice.


	8. Episode 7

**A/N- Decided to do this chapter from Sasuke's point of view because I know you guys could use some insight, plus I thought it would be cool to run around in his mind. It was! lol. Well erm here ya go ^_^**

* * *

**Sasuke P.O.V**

I usually consider myself a mildly rational man, well, if not that something moderately close but there comes a point in my mind when logic goes right out the window and I know only one thing. This one thing is teeth gnashing anger, the kind that starts on the outside and somehow works it's way into my blood. Boiling from the inside like a pot of piping hot water on a heated stove top. I know my intentions, I know that I could take this guy before he has time to make the wrong move, which they always do.

_Hn._

I don't know why I've decided on this coarse of action but I know that I never go all in without thoroughly weighing out the cause and effect. In this case, my actions would result in disgrace. If I attacked this guy then the events that followed would be demeaning; ANBU apprehending me, Senshi seeing the man I really was.

I sighed, I couldn't do that, not to Senshi and why would I...why do I even want to fight this guy?

I struggled for the answer but my mind seemed blocked off from actually wanting to find it out. I decided to just drop the feeling blazing up inside me, though I could still feel it cutting into me like a dull blade.

"Tou-san..isn't Oba-chan's cake YUMMY?"

_Hn?_

I looked towards Senshi but he wasn't looking at me. The impostor held a smug look on his greater than pale face. His dark eyes acknowledged Senshi but adverted to me as if he was personally trying to provoke me to fuck up his existence. Maybe I was just looking for a reason to kill him, I had plenty enough already but my conscious noted the damage in doing something like that.

I stared at the cake Senshi had cut for me, it was a giant ass slice that I was certain I probably wouldn't finish. I was no Naruto, whom already had been on his tenth serving. His poor son hadn't even had time to eat his own slice of Peachberry before that idiot was hollering for another piece.

_Pathetic but completely expected._

At my side Ino took on a motherly tune and began humming to baby Inomari, whom had fallen asleep with cake stained cheeks. Her cone hat crooked and her pale blond hair hanging away from her forehead. Ino had been sitting alone and Shikamaru and Kiba had gone off for a few drinks in the front yard. They had offered me an invitation, probably because the women were pushing at it relentlessly but I explained that Senshi and I would be leaving soon and I'd much rather get to know Sakura's fiancé which, by no meanings, would I actually dare strike up a tactful conversation with that ass wipe.

"Admit it." Ino snaps suddenly at my side.

"What the hell am I admitting to?"

"You're admitting that you've been bitten by the jealous bug and that you, Sasuke Uchiha, would like nothing more than to deck the hell out of Sai."

"You're right about the second part but I'm not jealous...jealousy is an affliction...hn, who is he?"

Ino took a deep breath and placed the small bundle, that was Inomari, into the stroller at her side. The fair haired child flinched a bit from the movement but otherwise, remained soundlessly asleep. Ino stared at her with a small grin and leaned in to kiss her forehead. She used Shikamaru's jacket to tuck her in and then turned her attention to Sasuke.

"You'd have to have a reason for wanting to slug a guy...fight's don't just happen because one guy decides it's their career path, there's always a reason." she pressed knowingly. I rolled my eyes and stared at the children whom were greedily wolfing down the cake like starving grown men rather than then what their body masses suggested.

"Hn, maybe I just don't like him."

"How could you not like him, you don't even know him..." she explained defensively which was saying a lot for Ino since she was only loyal to a handful of people but never just anyone. I'm guessing this guy was probably around here during the huge gap of me not being here. It's the only explanation.

"...he was your replacement on team seven." she confirmed, her tone is scolding but I brush it off, it's a habit of mine to filter out things that seem irrelevant to the subject at hand. The subject who had convinced my son that he was somehow his father, to think that any guy could ever go along with that proclamation had me riled up enough to tear his head from his shoulders. It was pure stupidity to try and pass off an Uchiha as your son and it pissed me off to no end hearing Senshi call him 'Tou'...that title was mine and no one else', this guy wasn't even worthy of those words...not that I was either but we share the same blood, for fucks sake he looks just like me. I know those attributes don't necessary make you a father but they had to count. They did to me.

"Hn...why does Senshi call him that?"

"Well, Sasuke, he has been around Senshi since you haven't been...are you mad because of that, because if you are that's selfish."

"Hn?" I was tempted to repudiate the accusation but something in me didn't want to go through the hassle.

"It's selfish because to him, Sai is as much as his dad as you are except Sai was here much longer. You're being selfish if you think that you can take that away from him or just be mad because he's here."

I feel like a line of hate has been drawn and Ino is not on my side. Can I blame her? I never really talked to her very often, I never talked to anyone as often as I should have. I thought of my comrades as merely obstacles and tools to surpass, to make me strong enough to face the real challenge. To prepare me for my true goal and when I thought of them as less as stepping stones I threw them away. Fled my village to be under the tutelage of a creep who wanted my body but he made me stronger none the less. I was blinded by the lust for power and vengeance and for awhile it was the only reason life seemed bearable. I would have sold my soul for a power stronger than my brothers, I did sell my soul.

"Hn I don't want to take anything away from him but I'm his father."

"ya...but for how long...you have to know that this is a little boy, he doesn't see what he's saying as wrong. His mind doesn't understand that he's putting you both in an uncomfortable situation but look how Sai is handling it. He's always been compared to you by Sakura, he has lived through her rejection to his proposal more times then any man would have liked or even tried. She was so stuck on you Sasuke...so heartbroken, you wouldn't believe ho-"

"I KNOW!"

I didn't mean to growl it but I had taken enough persecution from the council, citizens and "friends". It's like what I was doing wasn't enough, in the back of my mind I knew that I was guilty as sin for a lot of things. The main thing was the accident that lead to Sakura being in the coma. Yes, I know that I've been wrong but I'm constantly reminded that I'm a horrible human being, I'm constantly told that I'm a piece of shit. Knowing that I am sometimes makes it easier to take. Sometimes I let their words fly right over my head, I turn off my feelings and I absorb that they hate me but other times, I need back up...I need someone to remind me that I'm not that person anymore because hearing Ino remind me of the horrible things I've done certainly still makes me feel like I was lost. As if I'm waiting for a reason to screw up shit again, as if my loyalties were moot.

_I've lost everything..._

Some people are staring at me, Senshi is in this audience, his green eyes wide and bewildered. His fingers reach out to touch me but I shake my head to stop him, feeling a little stupid for denying his comfort but I hated feeling this way. If this was jealousy then it was bitter. A poignant reminder that I wasn't out of the woods and would probably never be.

"Tou...?"

I look at him, my fist were planted on the table and they stung raw. I realize that their is a crack splintering through the wood, my body burns as furious as the fires of hell and I realize that I can't swallow whatever it is lodge in my throat. Guilt slams against my impenetrable walls of indifference and I know I'm at that point that I fault so hard to dismiss.

Why the hell didn't I just take that beer invitation, would have been well off with a beer and sleep because I know I didn't have enough of it to deal with this shit.

"Teme...you ok?" asks Naruto leaning into the table to stare at me with concern, his blue eyes hard and shocked, I'm sure he can no doubt read that I'm uneasy about everything because his eyes began to poor out their sympathy and pity. I don't want anyone's pity and to have it thrust down on me disgusts me beyond words, I look away with a small nod.

"...I'm fine...I just need a walk..."

I say standing but Senshi latches onto my fist.

"Tou...I wan come with you." He is staring at me with those eyes, those eyes that were alive and innocent, they were better than my eyes...they were pure. I want to tell him that I would like his company. I want to take him away from everyone and hide the truth from him for as long as time would let me. I want to go back in time and change who I was...I want to remember how he's looking at me because he was bound to change, destined to look at me the way that everyone else does.

I don't know how I will deal with that when the time comes...but I know I'll remember that smile and I'll keep it safe, even if I'll never see it directed at me again.

"No..." I say simply, I tousle his hair and then I walk past Ino. I knew I was being selfish, walking away from my kid but I couldn't risk the alternative, I couldn't risk this feeling brewing inside of me.

"Ino."

My back is facing her but I can feel her guilt, I know that she regrets giving me a a piece of her mind at a moment like this but I admire her for calling me out even at the expense of driving away. At least she didn't just stare at me the way everyone else did.

"Sasuke?"

"Thank you." I don't wait for her to answer, I began to walk for the door. Chatter swallows up the backyard and I don't look over my shoulder even though I'm tempted to see if Senshi had forgotten about me. I don't have long to keep to myself because about time I reach the living room in Naruto's house I see a man, a man whom taught me my most valuable move. A guy who put all of his faith in me at one point and took me under his wing and I had repay him by spouting out insults to his character. I slammed him, called him weak and spineless. I remembered the vile I spat at him and here he was...right in front of me.

His silver hair stands on edge as usual and his smoky black eye and the crimson one have already assessed me before I can say a word.

"Is this a party or a Reunion, Sasuke Uchiha...in the flesh...so you're back?" it was a rhetorical question that hadn't taken much thought but it held a lot of meaning. His voice had always been so calm but I wasn't sure he should be this calm. I would have expected him to be like everyone else, suspicious.

"Yeah..I am."

He sighs and looks up at the ceiling briefly and then over my shoulder at something.

"I suppose that sounds about right, children always come back home, no matter how naughty or foolish they've been...home is the one place they know they'll be accepted and taken back into...smart choice but why did it take you so long to come home?"

I shrug, I wasn't prepared for a Q&A, I never was.

"Hn, I don't know.."

I can't have this conversation, I refuse to. I start to walk past him but he clamps the heaviest hand on my shoulder and squeezes it so hard that I should be writhing on the ground and calling 'uncle' but it has the opposite effect than expected. This simple contact may leave a scar later but it's the warmest thing I've ever felt besides being around Senshi.

It brings back memories and just how forgiving my former squad leader was, is.

"Welcome back to the nest but the next time you feel like you need to fly solo...remember everything you've been taught here because if you had...you'd have known that this wouldn't have happened if you had a hobby."

"...what?"

He held up a book with a red ribbon wrapped around it and shoved it into my chest.

"Thank of it as a lesson except a lot cooler because I wont be around to quiz you on it...not until the next time our paths diverge..." He walked past Sasuke. "...well now, I have a god son to gift and I'm four hours late...Welcome home Sasuke, your slate will be clean in my book once you read that book."

I sighed. Did that really just happen and was he seriously expecting me to read a book...I haven't read a book in years and I probably wouldn't start now.

Hn, right.

I tossed the book down on Naruto's beige la-Z-boy in the living room and not even a moment later something sharp met with the back of my head when I turned to walk away.

"OUCH WHAT THE..."

I rubbed at the stabbing ache in the back of my head and looked down to see the book at my feet, I looked up ready to spit a few words at Kakashi but he was no where to be found. I looked down at the book and read the title.

It read four words,

'Red Thread'

On the front cover there was a man and a women being consumed by stings of thread, it pierced through their flesh, their hearts and everything else around them...from the scenery to the very ground. The two characters held their arms out toward one another but only their fingertips touched, their facial expressions were masked in fear.

I sighed and picked it up. It was pretty heavy and the pages looked like they held a shit load of uninteresting things. I decided that I didn't want a book harpooned at my head again. If reading it was all it took to get back into Kakshi's good graces than...fuck...I guess I'd just have to give it a shot, but if it's stupid and I hate it. I'll just hunt down someone who has read it and interrogate the shit out of them.

I smiled a little and just as I stood up a pair of bare feet came into my downward view.

Senshi was in front of me with tears in his eyes.

"Senshi...what's wrong."

I reach out to touch him but he hopped back, his lips pressed into a hard line and his brows low over his eyes.

My son was scowling at me.

"What is it?" I urge in a hard voice.

"You...you aw leaving me...I don wan to stay if you aw gone." he cried out.

I was expecting him to be crying about something more...I don't know what I was expecting but him crying about me was certainly not what I thought.

"That's all..." I muse more to myself then him.

"Don't leave...I didn't even tell you my wish!...I didn't even tell you!" he panicked gasping for air. I knelt down and pulled him unquestionably into my arms. I hold him hard because I know him well enough to know that he likes the pain of a hug, if I were squeezing him any less he would question it.

Senshi had been crying a lot often now then he had before. When I first met him he looked the part of a tough kid, one that never cried in front of anyone but later on, when he could let go of that façade. He cried as often as a little girl and it wasn't because he was weak or fragile...it was because he cared about everything, he was a passionate child, something that reminded me of myself when I was his age. I had been so jealous of Itachi, so obsessed with gaining my fathers attention and thinking he didn't give a damn. I saw myself in him and I don't know why but that makes this bond we have even stronger.

"What did you wish?" I ask him feeling his warm tears against my neck, his small nose sniffling against me, his small arms around my neck and his heart beat rapid.

"You wan-to know?"

"Hn, yeah...don't keep me waiting."

He didn't speak for a moment but eventually he sighed and sniffled.

"I wish fo Kaa-san to wake up and I wish fo us to be together forebber."

My silence must have seemed harsh or upsetting to him because a moment later he asked,

"Is that bad...Tou-san...?"

I sighed and messed up his ponytail because my fingers were now peaking from his dark hair. There's this feeling I get when I comfort Senshi that makes me feel like a hero, it's out of this world and not even taking a life compares to the high. It makes me higher than hell and it makes me feel like a good guy for once. Senshi was all that I have, he was the only person who hadn't looked down on me or reminded me how much of a fuck up I was. I know some of that was because he was oblivious to everything and no one had told him but when the word gets to him I know it will kill him. The last seven months with him have made me question everything I've ever known...has made me realize that if I wanted to I could be better. I needed him, I needed him more than I could ever need anyone else. He saw what nobody else could see and for that I will always hold him this close and protect him like my life depended on it.

"No...it's not bad Senshi...let's go see your mom."

"Right now!"

"...right now, unless you want to stay...we can wait."

"No, I'll open my presents lator."

"Hn, are you sure?"

"Un!"

I picked up the book and he grabbed my hand.

"Tou-san...I love you."

I smiled down at him, surprised. The only other person that's said that word to me is now dead. It's been awhile since I've heard anyone express anything other than hate and ridicule to me.

"I love you...never forget that, no matter what anyone says...you're the best thing that has ever happen to me...and I may not know what to do sometimes but we'll get through this, together."

He nodded with understanding.

"let's go tell your Oji and then we'll go, hnnk."

"Ne!"


	9. Episode 8

Senshi Uchiha rounded the hospital bed where his mother dwell and stood on his toes to get a glimpse of her face but he could barely reach and the two red roses in his hand were preventing him from making a genuine endeavor. His curiosity had been sparked at the sight of all the tubes and bandages that disguised her from the way he remembered. The boy hadn't seen her in so long that he almost couldn't believe that the worn out human being before him was his Kaa.

_She doesn't look like Kaa..._

"Tou-san..."

"Hn?"

"She doesn't look like Kaa-san...Kaa-san dozen like bandages...and Kaa-san dozen sleep all day and I can't see her hair...what color is it.."

The child whined to his father, placing the plastic bag of roses down noisily against his mothers stomach and then attempted to clamber up the metal bars along the bedside. Sasuke hoisted his son up on top of the bed and then watched his face carefully. Usually he could read Senshi like a book, he had always been more than perceptive when it came to most things involving his son but it's times like these that he could only watch and wait for Senshi to tell him.

"The bandage is around her head, you can't take it off...not until her head get's better, she's really tired Senshi."

Sasuke informed him hoping to ease some of his confusion. Sasuke sat on the edge of the bed behind him. The roses they had brought from the market had only cost him a few yen and it was Senshi whom had come up with the idea during their walk. Sasuke thought it would be a good idea, the decorations around Sakura's room haven't been updated. Balloons from other visitors had already began to deflate. The roses on the window seal had shriveled into themselves and crumbled on top of the sash making a small pile of dust. The room altogether seemed stale and vacant, even Sakura's presence seemed to dwindle away. He had almost thought they walked into the wrong room but the rhythmic sound of the life monitor was undeniable as was her pungent aroma of cinnamon and strawberry.

"...better...is her head broken?"

Senshi inquired lugubriously, his voice an octave higher. Sasuke pulled him into his arms from behind and sighed.

"No...just hurt..."

"Why?"

This was a typical Senshi question, he resorted to the word 'why' when he needed a deeper explanation, one that calmed him and satisfied him all in one go. Sasuke rested his chin on top of the boys head and watched Senshi hesitantly brush his finger tips across Sakura's, waiting for a response. Sasuke could feel his disappointment when he didn't get one.

"We were in an accident, in a car...we flipped over a few times, she hit her head really hard, she's been asleep since then."

"H-h-how, come, you aww not hort Tou-san?"

"Hn, I was...remember...but I didn't hit my head..."

Senshi nodded slightly and continued to brush at Sakura's fingertips, when he was sick of the neglect he grabbed her long bony fingers and then placed her hand in Sasuke's.

"She's cold...let's warm her up Tou...maybe she wake up then!"

He sounded excited and hopeful but Sasuke detected the doubt, he didn't understand why he was trying to be brave about everything. Sasuke felt that this made things easy but he didn't want Senshi to suppress whatever he was feeling.

Sakura's hand in Sasuke fit as it always had. Her palms were so soft and unique and he could feel the pulse coming from her wrist echo throughout her entire hand. It throbbed against his fingertips and he watched her stagnant face. Cut's and bruises still lingered and her flesh seemed to have gotten paler. She looked scarcely thin and gaunt, sick even. Sasuke wondered if Senshi was frightened, he was expecting him to be crying by now but the boy only stared. At time's he would say things like. 'Get up sleepy face!' or 'Kaa-san I made you cards...wake up so I read dem'.

Sasuke wondered if she could hear them in her subconscious mind but he was dubious, she certainly didn't hear Naruto the other day when he was screaming. He didn't know how it felt to be a prisoner of your mind but he knew it probably didn't feel good to be alone in it, with no one to talk you down from loosing yourself. From falling into the confinement of your thoughts.

Senshi was handling this visitation better than Sasuke could have ever imagined; maybe Naruto was right, maybe he should have brought Senshi around a long time ago instead of trying to shield him from his mother's condition. Broken, yes, but Sakura none the less.

_I'm sorry I kept him away this long...I'm sorry for a lot of things._

Sasuke ran his thumb over the smooth skin, like satin, on the back of her hand. He remembered the first time he had done this sort of thing was during their wedding. Sakura was jittery during the ceremony and colder than she was now. Sasuke hated the gawking crowd but he hated being clothed in a montsuki even more but he supposed he had to endure it for the sake of being hitched. Kakashi had told him several different times that wearing the heavy traditional clothing was customary to the walk of meeting his beloved, he claimed he had never seen a man descend down the alter in anything less than formal. The number one rule of matrimony was to make every girl jealous of the bride, he recalled Gai saying to him just before they walked into the Shinto Shrine, everyone was fussing over him that day. Trying to make his hair look less spiky or simply asking him if he was nervous or had second thoughts. He had always dismissed their frantic questions with a leer, he was the only sane person in the shrine that day.

_Hn, it was the easiest thing in the world for you and I, we had thought about it for a long time...Ino has to know that you didn't just say yes to me either, I guess you wanted to trust me first. I didn't make that easy. I was never an easy person._

Remembering that day seemed like a blur or some kind of hazy dream that he had forgotten to write down. He tried to draw up more from that day but nothing came to mind everything was a whir of sake, bad jokes and sappy speeches. From the start of the ceremony all the way up to the kekkon hiroen.(reception party) People were drunk off their asses, Sasuke knew he was one of them thanks to some stupid challenge Naruto had swept everyone into.

Sasuke grimaced and sighed.

"Is it wo-king...Tou?"

Sasuke could feel the warmth under his thumb. He nodded.

"I think so."

"Yus!" Senshi hissed with deep satisfaction, Sasuke could see a huge grin grace his boy's face and Sasuke chuckled.

"Hn, where do you come up with this stuff?"

"My noggin, I smart!"

"Hn, let's not get too carried away." Sasuke teased.

"TOUUUWA!" Senshi squeaked elbowing his father playfully.

There was suddenly a knock on the door. Both Uchiha looked over and spotted a Nin and Tsunade framed in the door. Senshi swiped the hair out of his face to see.

"Baa-chan Tsu-Tsu!" Senshi cheered with true shock on his small face.

Tsunade entered the room with a careless 'hmph' and a little grin.

"Well, well, well, I thought I smelled a little brat in here."

Senshi stuck out his tongue and rolled his eyes.

"eh, I smelled you foyst lady."

A moment later they both burst out into laughter, in which, Sasuke concluded was some kind of inside joke. Tsunade held out her arms, her breast perky but explosive beneath her gambling robe and her eyes just as stern as they had always been. Sasuke watched Senshi walk towards her and then pretend he wasn't interested in hugging but Tsunade snatched him up and Senshi was smothered in her bosom, happily. He grinned slyly at his father and Sasuke didn't know if he should laugh or be astonished that he discovered his son took an interest in the Hokages tits. He decided he'd just stare and pretend he didn't see his seven year old son have his first pervie moment and he used it on someone decades older. Senshi nuzzled and then sighed.

"You came to see Kaa-san too Baa, Tou-san says she's really tired.."

"Not particularly, I came to spoil my favorite munchkin with his favorite cookies and...I came to give you this..." She pecked Senshi on the cheek leaving behind a faint scarlet trace of her lipstick. Senshi blushed and couldn't seem to stop laughing after. Tsunade place him down, she pulled out a plastic bag of cookies and surrendered them over to Senshi.

"Happy birthday kiddo, Shizune made them but we've agreed to share the praise, well, I did."

"Thank you Baa-Tsu-Tsu..."

He hugged her at the waist and she pat his back comfortingly. Sasuke knew that this simple little gesture of comfort made all of the difference to Senshi and women could so simply deliver that kind of sympathy so easily where as for Sasuke, it seemed like something foreign and hard to just set into motion. His heart was there but his body wasn't used to giving itself over to emotions. He had stifled them for so long.

"It's my pleasure especially if you're to be my husband someday eh, remember, you promised me."

Senshi blushed again but nodded.

"Ne.." he said earnestly and Sasuke laughed darkly.

"Hn, what ever happened to hating girls again?"

The small boy looked towards his father and then scratched the back of his head nervously.

"I didn't mean it...papa...not all of dem...just Suri.." he whispered discreetly but Tsunade smiled and then pointed towards the bed.

"How about you go talk to your mother for a moment, I need to have a word with your father."

Senshi looked a bit dismayed but nodded and placed a cookie in his mouth.

"Mmmhmm."

Tsunade's face became tough and hard as soon as she and Sasuke's eyes met. She motioned for the Nin to look after Senshi and then gestured with her index finger for Sasuke to follow her. Without a word she roamed off into the hall with her loud heels, her robe fluttered out behind her like a cape.

"I'll be back." Sasuke informed Senshi and followed off after the leafs Hokage in his natural pace. His hands in his pockets and his eyes low and impassive.

Once he was in the hall with Tsunade she placed her hands on her hips and stared at the tiled ground for a moment. Sasuke stared at her slightly curious but he wasn't about to let her know that. He wanted to make her need him and not seem desperate for work other than the scanty janitor duties he was doing now. He wanted to come off as rude just to make her grovel.

"What is it?" he offered when she hadn't spoken in awhile, possibly just being hard to deal with.

She sighed and stared up at him.

"Were you aware of the failure during the recent mission?"

"Hn, I wasn't aware of any mission, remember, I was mopping up the cafeteria..." he said in a wise ass tone, he fully intended to sound like an assault.

"hmm, that's right you were cleaning up your shit the easy way...well, we are short on Jounin teachers because of this recent mission in Amegakure. The details are irrelevant to what I'm assigning you to SO let me just get to the part where I say that, Sasuke Uchiha, you will be assigned as an official squad leader of Team 1, due to the loss of their recent instructor, Akuma Itatishi."

"Hn, someone died..."

"Didn't I just say that was irrelevant, not to mention confidential, such knowledge isn't any of your concern...I am still unsure of your loyalties but I know your not cocky enough to trample over my generosity in allowing you to live within the city walls. You bet your ass that if you do anything to jeopardize the safety of those kids, you will be dealt with as you should have been for crossing the leaf the first time, is that clear?"

_When I say, I want work, I meant work...not babysitting a failure squad...I could be of far more use to this city by deploying to Amegakure but she doesn't trust me that much. Hn...I wonder what's happening there...if someone died and the mission had failed, it must have been something lethal. It had to be._

"Hn, crystal...when do I start?"

"Next week...be early, be ready.."

"Hn, alright."

_ Dammit...a squad leader, now I was responsible for four children, I'm tempted to keep the damn janitor job but if she wants trust I'll give her trust...Team one will be a success._

"Words that I like to hear." without further word she began to walk down the hall, her heels making a steady clunking sound against the linoleum. Sasuke watched her long strands of hair sway on top of her green robe and then she paused.

"You're doing a good job Uchiha with the kid...I think Sakura would have wanted that, what women doesn't..." she called out beginning to strut her 'I'm in charge' strut and then a second later she yelled at a clumsy, and clearly nervous Nin for spilling a box full of senbon. The Nin pleaded to be forgiven in a timid tone but Tsunade barked at her mercilessly.

Sasuke furrowed a brow. He didn't know how he had gotten the generous side of her to accept him back into this place but he considered himself lucky. He was reunited with Senshi and that is all that mattered to him now. His son.

When he walked back into the room, he saw that a Nin had placed their roses into a vase in front of the window. He found Senshi on the bed with Sakura, his shoes were off; discarded on the ground and he lay on her chest with his eyes slightly open. When he came closer he could see a shock of pink hair over her forehead, which hadn't been there before.

"Senshi." he began but decided against it. Once the nurse had cleared out Sasuke pulled up a chair and sighed.

He had been expecting Senshi to say something but a moment later he realized the boy had fallen asleep, no doubt content. He sat back in his chair and watched them both sleeping. Their faces were akin when they were both asleep. Senshi's small arm hang over her stomach and Sakura's face seemed at peace with this.

This had been the first time he had gone in to visit her without Naruto and it had been the first time that he could face the damage that he had done. Watching Sakura and Senshi laying there had made him feel at peace with everything he just learned from Tsunade. No, he didn't want the job but it was an upgrade from mopping and doing the jobs that no Shinobi wanted to apply for. It would be a tedious and strenuous task to teach the children as he had been taught by his squad leader but he could pull it off. After all, he had become a father within seven weeks and when he put his mind towards a goal he had been successful each and every time.

His mind was quiet for a brief moment and then he noticed that Sakura's ring finger didn't posses a ring as Sai's had. Whether that was because it was confiscated by the hospital or because she simply didn't wear one he was uncertain. He reached out his hand hesitantly to take hers but then pulled away. He wondered why Sakura had decided she would accept Sai's proposal.

The raven haired Shinobi yawned and his eyes closed. He was feeling a bit tired as well, he had missed out on three hours of sleep thanks to Naruto and now since he would be managing a squad of idiots, possibly, he would need all the sleep he could get. Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest and yawned. His eyes opened slightly and he stared out of the window for a while longer, expecting sleep to take him at any moment. His eyes slunk and his body grew heavy. A flapping noise filled his ear and he closed his eyes briefly but opened them again just slightly. He spotted the strangest bird perched on the window seal. It's back was turned to him and it's inky delicate wings began to spread slowly. They were beyond average in size and the wind made them bristle. Sasuke tried to cling on to consciousness for just a while longer.

The bird let out a piecing screech suddenly and that snapped Sasuke right out of his stupor but the bird had vanished when his eyes went to seek it out.

He lingered in his thoughts for a moment wondering if it had just been a dream but he knew it wasn't, his ears were still ringing.

His father had told him once that the screeching of a black bird was a sound of warning. To who, he wasn't sure but out of the three people in the room he hoped that it was for him. He had never believed in any of the Uchiha folklore but his brother, Itachi, seemed to believe in it with his soul.

"Did you...see him Tou...?" Senshi's voice said suddenly. "...my bird.."

And for the first time Sasuke gave a genuine answer.

"Yeah...I did."


	10. Episode 9

**A/N- Thanks for the reviews, always looking forward to genuine inputs. Hope you enjoy..**

* * *

The day's that followed Senshi's birthday past hastily, things had become routine.

Sasuke awoke to Senshi in his bed curled up against him, it took him an hour to wake the boy. They either ordered out or raided the market on some occasions. At home he would help him with school work and then even taught Senshi how to draw his own bath.

It took a couple of house flooding's but eventually the young Uchiha was capable of operating the tub faucet and graduated to 'big boy bath-time' a.k.a showers that didn't involve his Tou-san as a life guard.

The boy did miss his father's shadow awaiting his finish on the other side of the shower curtain but shower time alone was way better. He stomped around in the water and liked to sneak his collection of water guns into the tub. Once his father checked that he was, in fact, in the tub a moment later Senshi would sneak out, stark naked, trying to stifle his vibrant laughter. Sometimes he was lucky enough to complete the mission, other times he was exposed and embarrassed; tracks of wet foot prints betray him and led his father right to him.

Sasuke had been embarrassed as well; sometimes he forgot that he was no longer just a bachelor who could leave the doors open while he took a wiz or kick back and drink a beer while watching raunchy television. A few times when he had believed Senshi was out cold for the night he'd 'accidentally' turn to a guilty channel. He would be popping the cap off a beer, intent on the dirty little images flashing on the screen and then Senshi slithers beside him undetected.

"Tou-san, I have one of those...just like him...but his is all grown up, really grown up!"

Above anything he had been ashamed, even though he was quite sure that Senshi hadn't a clue what he had seen it still made Sasuke uneasy that he had 'accidentally' ordered the channel. Leave it to a kid to make you feel like you should get the death penalty for watching porn.

Once Sasuke had explained to Senshi that it was a bad channel, he turned to an all night cartoon station and tried to sway his mind from the incident. Senshi had tried to stay up, cracking up at the cartoon beside his father but eventually he would fall asleep.

This was their regime. Some day's went exactly as scheduled and other days differed, like the times that they swung by the hospital to visit Sakura. Senshi would tell her all about his day at school and Sasuke would watch him continue to put on that 'brave' act even through he could see the sorrow in his eyes.

Sasuke had began to get comfortable with the visitation. He sat closer to the bed at times when Senshi looked like he would break down, he would even go as far as to touch her. Senshi always seemed to glow when he saw his father take more of an interest in his mother and then other visitors would come in and contaminate the cheerfulness of the situation. Mainly it had been Sai who would come in spoiling Sasuke's good mood and exciting Senshi with his gifts of Sketch pads and art utensils.

It had always disturbed Sasuke that he could just waltz in at any moment and ruin his frame of mind but after awhile he thought nothing of it. He realized that while he may not have Sakura anymore he still had Senshi and he could live with that piece of them. Senshi was his child, he and Sakura's no matter how much that ass-fuck tried to squirm his way into the picture.

That thought usually got him through those awkward run-ins.

For awhile everything had been going smoothly, next week Sasuke would meet his squad. He tried to find a bright side to this but realized after much thought there was no bright side, no matter how desperately he needed their to be. He knew that these children would be much older than Senshi and well aware of what he had done. Sometimes he thought that Tsunade arranged this as more of a punishment than a kindness. He wouldn't have put it past her. The women gambles harder than a dusty old bastard in Vegas and with a gambling mind who knew what she had in store for Sasuke...

* * *

**When the phone rang that night he wasn't prepared for the news.**

"Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Hn, yeah?"

"This is concerning your ex-wife, Haruno Sakura."

"...what about her...i-is she ok?"

"It's best if you were down here...hurry.."

He hang up the phone immediately and called Naruto whom had gotten the call himself, he suggested they meet at his house and he could drop Senshi off. Sasuke dressed Senshi in a jacket over his pajamas and shoved on his boots while the boy was still sleep. He picked him up and headed out to Naruto's house in the dark windy city of Konohagakure.

During his walk his mind was clouded with thought's of what could have possibly gone wrong because he knew nothing had gone right.

It never did for very long.

He walked under the street lights listening to Senshi's slumbering breath, his face nuzzled against Sasuke's throat. Once Naruto's neighborhood came into view he sprinted the rest of the way. Hinata was at the door awaiting him with the glassiest look to her pale purple eyes.

"Sasuke...give him to me, he can sleep in Minoto's room..." Sasuke surrendered his son over to the pregnant Hyuga. She had always been helpful and he was grateful for that. He didn't want to bring Senshi to the hospital especially since Sakura's state was unknown.

Naruto emerged from his bedroom zipping up his vest and even his face seemed to grieve.

_...do they know something I dont..._

"You ready?"

"Hn...let's go."


	11. Episode 10

_"HELP!...HELP!...PLEASE...help me...Sasuke...who, are you.."_

To be locked out of your body and stranded in the dark is one thing...to loose your memories...all things precious to you, well now, that's another. It's a truly horrifying image to see everything slip from your consciousness. There used to be clouds in my mind, those little images of people and events that I'd like to relive when I was a withered old women who longed to be young again. I kept those clouds close to me...I liked to lose myself, tucked blissfully away in those clouds...hide away in my mind when reality tore away at my soul, my heart. I kept so much of me in my memories...I kept my heart in those clouds and now...I have no clouds, I have nothing.

Nothing but this one name in which I cannot place a face...nor can I speak the word loud enough. I am closed off from my body, mind and soul.

Beating on a door that is lost to me forever...I am lost.

* * *

The waiting room inside of the Konoha Hospital had been over capacitated and the occupants had been growing more wary every hour that they were left in the dark. Tension hung raw in the air and everyone seemed to tick with nerves and impatience.

Naruto pasted back and fourth across the tiled floor both angry and pained, his hair had already been bedraggled, his eyelids livid. Ino's knee bobbled constantly with her unease and she stared up at the ceiling nearly crushing a styrofoam cup of steaming coffee from the hospitals cafeteria. Her phone had rang countless amount of times and people had even informed her but she remained mute, every few seconds a tear would trek down her cheek and she would swipe it away with her thumb. Kiba had gone to her side to console her in his arms, Shikamaru hadn't come and they were all feeling the overbearing pressure of the wait.

Choji held a bag of onion rings in his clutches but had been too busy worrying over Ino to stuff his face. Sai was leaning against the receptionist desk with his face buried dreadfully into his gloved hands.

Sasuke sat propped against the chill of the arched glass window, the cold made him numb. He had stripped off his jacket and pressed really close to the reflective glass, causing condensation with his heated breath. He closed his eyes a few time with exhaustion but just as quickly snapped back and ran a hand over his face trying to keep himself alert and ready for any news.

_What the fuck is taking so long...we've been out here for two hours.._

He wanted to yell this to everyone behind him to start up a riot but everyone had simmered down from before, they had probably even excepted what their minds had been telling them. Good news could be delivered over the phone but bad news required an audience and if this wasn't an audience he didn't know what was.

He stared out at the nights sky. Very dark but buzzing with luminous street lights and Neon signs, the contrast made everything look serene. Konoha had really reinvented itself since he had last seen it. The hospital building was so high that he could see how exquisitely brilliant it could be at night. Car's swerving past with their yielding high beams and planes overhead with a roar of entrance...things coming and going.

_Sakura...going..._

He wasn't ready to think about if it were true. It can't be true...it can't, he never even had the chance to beg her to forgive him. If there was a chance in hell that she could beat this, that she could come back he would fall to his knee's before her and stay there as long as he needed to, to have her forgiveness. He didn't care how anyone would look at him, he just needed her to be ok...be alright because he couldn't live in this world knowing that he caused her death. He couldn't have cared for Senshi this long if he had known that there was a possibility she wouldn't come back, he wouldn't have cared for him at all if there was a chance that Sakura would be gone, never to see either of them again.

He pressed his forehead to the window and watched a few hazy clouds skim across the crescent moon.

"Naruto...your pasting is starting to bug me, just sit down, pasting around it's easing anyone's mind." someone hissed with aggravation, it sounded like Sai.

"I'M NOT TRYING TO EASE ANYONE...and pasting is the only thing I can do!"

"Sai, cool your jet's we're all a little on edge dude." Kiba came to Naruto's defense very coolly, he was lulling in a plastic chair beside Ino, who was pressed into his chest. He stroked her hair and stared at Sai's form.

Sai made a disagreeing sound underneath his breath but otherwise made no further comment.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and listened to Naruto's scuffling foot steps as he resumed pasting.

A few perpetual minutes later, the room door creaked open, flooding the room of despair with even more despair if that were possible. The new's was anticipated but not necessarily wanted, nobody would know how to deal with it, Sasuke was expecting everyone in there to lose their minds or erupt into a coma of their very own.

The Nin whom emerged from the room stared around at the people who began to gather around her like a mob of lost souls. There was not a face who hadn't been touched with restlessness. Sasuke stayed seated on the window sash staring off, aloof. Everyone crowded the women with questions, the main question being,

"Is she awake?"

The Nin was a bitch whom liked to play with peoples emotions because she literally waited a few seconds to respond and then she nodded.

"Yes, she is well...a bit...disoriented and we're not entirely sure how fragile of a state she's in but.."

Everyone seemed to show signs of healing and excitement.

Naruto clapped his hands together once.

"ALRIGHT CAN WE GO IN NOW!"

He asked trying to see in the room past the Nin. The Nin placed a firm hand on his chest and shook her head.

"I'm sorry...but, you can't...the patient is in an extremely fragile state. It can be overwhelming to have so many visitors, so many faces and mind you...she has had a critical, brain injury. We want to take this slow...make sure her recovery wont take a turn for the worse...a relapse."

"We'll just go one by one." Ino suggested.

Conversation dispersed on how good of an idea that was but the Nin shook her head dismissively.

"None of you can go...she's requested to see her husband, she keep's calling his name."

"Husband...?" asked Kiba with a furrowed brow.

"I think she means Sai." Ino responded, pointing at Sai who stood behind the crowd rubbing at the back of his neck. Everyone seemed to stare at him with a little animosity.

"Me well, she's my fiance...so I suppose-"

The Nin crossed her arms over her pristine robe.

"She specifically said someone by the name of Sasuke...is there a Sasuke here?"

Sasuke adverted his eyes in the direction of his name, he stood to his feet and took on the stares of animosity that had been passed on to him, including Sai's loathsome one. Sasuke wanted to grin at him and say, 'she was mine first' but he only stared dumbfound at the nurse.

"I'm not...her husband." he explained impetuously.

"...well...just the same, she can't keep your name out of her mouth and it's all she's been able to say.."

Sasuke stared at the women for a moment and then at his comrades for some assurance.

"Go on Sasuke! Go see her and tell her that we're all out here waiting for her to get better!"

Naruto shouted out encouragingly, a little grin touched his lips.

Sasuke looked at him.

_What a dobe...but at least we're on the same team...again._

Sasuke began to walk towards the door, past the crowd of his teammates and friends.

Someone slapped him on the back, it was Naruto.

"Give her a big hug for me...would ya."

Sasuke simply nodded at him, though in his mind he knew that if this was the same Sakura as the day of the accident, hugging wouldn't be an option.


	12. Episode 11

"Sakura...?"

Sasuke says this hesitantly to test it out on her newly awake ears but she is just staring at him or through him, either way she wasn't acknowledging him as someone would when they heard their name. He could see the vacancy in her stare, the near stupor of her state, as if she would slip back under any second and be gone for good.

The Nin had all cleared out to give them some privacy.

There was an eerie feel to the room as if something had died and the Nin did all they could to hide it. He looked over at the roses on the windowpane he and Senshi had brought not too long ago, they had followed in the path of the flowers before them and withered away. He sighed and turned back to look at Sakura who's eyes were plastered to his face.

Calm and tired emerald eyes were dark and silent.

Maybe she was meaning to accuse him, maybe this was fair retribution for what he had done.

_She knows I hate to be ogled..._

Sasuke pulled his chair closer and reached out to take her hand. If she moved away from him he would take it as a sign that she didn't want him around even in this state that she was in he found it hard to believe that she would have mentioned his name instead of Sai. After all he was closer to being a husband than Sasuke was.

Although he hated to admit it, it was more true than he could stand to handle.

Sakura didn't move away or even flinch at his proximity. A breath of relief came through his nostrils and he had no idea why. He laced their fingers and held her gaze.

"...Sakura" He says lightly, he wasn't sure why because she was already staring at him. He cursed himself for his stupidity.

"Sakura...do you know me?" he sighed. "are you..."

_Really awake.._

He wanted to say but thought better of it, saying it out loud made it real. He cut the thought out of his mind refusing to let it fester with everything else in this room that seemed to die too fast.

Yes, physically, her eyes were opened but he wasn't sure anyone was home, mentally. She gave no indication that she knew what was going on or just what the hell he said.

Sasuke felt frustrated and it wasn't because she wasn't answering him, it was because there was no look for him in her eyes. The thing he always found attractive in Sakura were her eyes, they were like windows. Windows open for his benefit. Any stir of emotion she tried to hide always came to the light because he could see it passionately written in her eyes and now there was nothing. Not a glimmer of life, nor a trace of recognition as to who he was.

He felt a sick feeling twisting through him, it was violent and insane but he wanted so badly to shake her until she yelled at him, until she started trying to fight him off her...anything would be fine as long as she said something, he couldn't take the staring, the silent accusations.  
He swallowed hard and pulled their laced hands to his face and placed it against his forehead with a husky sigh, he leaned in and stared down at her neck to avoid the deadly gaze.

Her C&S body wash smelled pungent on her skin tonight, he could practically taste it. The Nin had probably washed her up thoroughly for this occasion. The gown was new and the bandage around her head had been gone, her hair was unkempt and she still looked sickly pale.

"This is all my fault...Sakura I'm sorry what I did, it was stupid...irrational, I was thoughtless and I just wanted to make you stop hating me..." he explained softly. If he was going to confess his feelings to anyone it would be Sakura, he knew that she was in no state to really take anything he said into mind but he needed to unload because he knew he wasn't going to walk out the door without telling her how sorry he was, he may never get a chance like this again.  
She could slip away at any moment...relapse out of he and Senshi's lives forever.

"Sasss-kay...?"

He looked at her from beneath where their hands were over his deep set brows. She was looking at him when those words came out of her mouth, a pitch too low but it was her voice.

Sasuke nodded.

"I'm here.." he whispered. "...you can say whatever you want to me, I won't leave...if you want me to stay Sakura I will stay...I-"

"Sasssss-kay..."

"Yes..."

"Sassss-kay..."

He just stared at her, watching her lips move and his name slide exhaustively from her cracked lips. Even her voice lacked the emotion, the knowledge of just who he was and for that and that alone something in his chest went hard and numb.

"Yeah, it's me." was all he could say, he carefully placed her hand down on her stomach, careful not to disarm any machine and rested a hand on the side of her face, stroking a lock of hair with more patience and feeling then he thought he was capable of. Watching a fleck of silver die in her dull eyes.

"I'm right here...can't you see...Sakura..."

"Sasss-kay...?"

She croaked again, like a small child needing his protection, like Senshi would during a thunderstorm but worse. Sasuke shushed her when he heard her moan miserably, he hadn't realized his face was so close until his forehead bumped hers. A warm tear fell over his fingers from her eyes and his name slithered breathlessly out of her mouth again, her lips trembled and she began to cry a ghostly cry his name pouring out of her mouth incessantly, with no meaning.

A broken record that haunted him, echoing off the walls in his mind relentlessly.

He tried to console her, his fingers stroking her and trying to warm her cool skin.

"Sakura...it's ok...your ok...Sakura please stop crying...please..."

He had never liked to see her cry even though most of the times she was crying because of him and he could deal with that because he knew just the right words to say to sooth her but now, in this moment he was like a blind man, he had never been more lost in his life then he was now. He didn't know what to say or do and panic lurked in his usually composed mind. He felt this frantic feeling seize him entirely, making him wary, making him angry and awakening too many things in him, he felt control slipping from his logical mind.

He knew what was coming and he hated knowing that he was this weak but that didn't stop it from coming. In his last resort, he stood up crawled into the bed and trapped her in his arms. Hearing her shout and choke out his name now. Screaming it in agony like she had the first time he visit her with Naruto, only this time her eyes were open and tears were steaming out. Sasuke held her so tightly that their heart beats blended. He closed his eyes and pushed his face into her hair.

"Shhh..." he whispered as gently as he could into her hair, he could feel her tears against his neck.  
He wanted to make her stop anyway that he could, he wanted her to be herself and push him away, punch him, fight with him...anything except this. This was not her, crying in a bed and saying his name. That wasn't the women he had known, she would never just lay there or stare at him emptily. Even when she was bitter with him her eyes were filled with something. He never thought he would see the day when there was nothing there for him. Not anger, not yearning...just nothing.

Dead silence.

He had himself to blame, this was all his fault...he fucking did this and no matter how much he would like to pretend that this would pass, he knew that it wouldn't, there was something wrong with her. Something really wrong and not knowing what it is and feeling useless tormented him the most.

I'm not running away Sakura...never again.

The door swung open and someone came in. Sasuke didn't bother to look, he didn't have time to hop off the bed and avoid embarrassment...he wasn't even embarrassed. He didn't care that he was laying in a hospital bed with his ex-wife, holding her like a lion would a mouse, crushing her like a mad man because after a moment, she was quiet, her screaming silenced but they still echoed long after in his mind and he found that it was harder to deal with than he thought..

"Forgive me.." He whispered desperately and then Sasuke Uchiha lost himself.

* * *

"Sasuke what the hell are you doing all over Sakura like that..!"

_Dammit teme...I told you to hug her not drown her..._

Naruto shouted out suddenly. Sasuke didn't budge, his face was buried in Sakura's hair and he was laying so close to her that it seemed almost inappropriate.

Naruto turned to look at the others who stood by the door just as bewildered and astounded as he felt. Sai was standing beside Naruto with a look of pure unmasked distaste on his face.

_who could blame the guy...Teme...you're hugging another mans fiance...are you insane!_

The Nin had all been called to a room of emergency a moment ago and Naruto had solemnly promised them no one would go in to see Sakura after Sasuke had came out but everyone went berserk when they heard Sakura screaming.

The few who don't trust Sasuke insisted that Naruto go check on what was happening and when he did, everyone decided to tag along.

_Well technically the promise wasn't broken...nobody went in AFTER Sasuke..._

Naruto walked over to the bed and tapped Sasuke on the head.

"Teme...what's...going on...?" he hissed in a whisper close to what he could only assume would be Sasuke's ear. The way they were wrapped up in each other didn't make sense to him, he wasn't sure who belonged to what body part.

Sasuke remained unresponsive and continued to hold Sakura like a snake coiled around a pole. Naruto peeked through a gap in Sasuke's human shield and could see that Sakura's eyes were closed and her bony hand was on Sasuke's waist. Overall it was a picture that Naruto had never seen, nor would he had ever thought he'd see.

He had always wondered what the two would look like showing affection. When they were together they were careful to remain professionally teammates, a condition he knew that Sasuke had enforced. Sasuke never acknowledged Sakura as his wife in person, in fact, if he hadn't known them he would think that they weren't even friends.

_...but this...the way you're holding her..._

The blond Shinobi sensed that there was something wrong. The others had broke into conversation but Naruto leaned in and spotted a tear slip down Sakura's forehead.

_...dammit teme..._


End file.
